News

Partner state Poland to offer exclusive premieres: K2 tank, Krab howitzer and dynamic displays

The Ground Forces of Poland, which is a Special Partner Nation of this year's NATO Days in Ostrava & Czech Air Force Days, will not be left behind the Air Force in their displays. Visitors to the event can look forward to the most extensive presentation of heavy and special equipment to date, including a premiere performance by the Air Cavalry.

Even static displays will be packed with premieres of heavy equipment and specialized light vehicles. For the first time outside Poland, the latest addition to the Polish Land Forces' inventory and one of the best main battle tanks of today - the K2 Black Panther - will be presented. However, the Polish army strives to present the widest possible spectrum of its weaponry and equipment, so among other vehicles on display will be, for example, the self-propelled howitzer Krab, the mortar RAK, the anti-aircraft missile system POPRAD or the AERO 4x4 KAFAR airborne vehicle, which can be dropped from aircraft. There will also be staff armoured vehicles and the artillery display will be complemented by the LIWIEC reconnaissance radar, which is often referred to as the eyes and ears of Polish artillery. The mini drone FLYEYE, which can be prepared for launching into action in less than 10 minutes, will certainly be an interesting display.

"This year's presentation of Polish ground equipment is truly exceptional, not only in terms of numbers, but also in terms of its variety. A lot of this equipment is also directly of Polish production, which only reinforces the importance of the concept of a partner state for the presentation of the arms industry of a given country," said Zbyněk Pavlačík, Chairman of Jagello 2000. "Moreover, the 25^th Air Cavalry Brigade promises to present a display which we have never seen before at the Mošnov airport, involving helicopters and armoured vehicles, so the spectators definitely have something to look forward to."

The 25^th Air Cavalry Brigade was established in 1994 and includes over 3,500 soldiers. The brigade's main role is air assault, where soldiers are transported and then deployed into combat by helicopters. As a result, the brigade has a high degree of manoeuvrability and is capable of rapid transport over long distances.

The K2 tanks were ordered by the Polish government from South Korea in July 2022 in response to the Russian attack on Ukraine and the need to strengthen its own defences. The first pieces of 180 ordered units arrived in December 2022, with a further 820 to be produced under license in Poland. The K2 tanks feature advanced active and passive protection systems or electronic fire control and battlefield communication systems. Korean footprint is also present in the Krab howitzers, whose current versions are manufactured in Poland on the Korean K9 chassis, but they also use British or French components. The Polish Artillery had 80 of these howitzers, but 72 of them were donated to Ukraine to strengthen their defences against the Russian invasion forces.

The mobile LIWIEC Weapon Locating Radar is designed to work with integrated artillery command and control systems as well as directly with batteries and individual guns. In combat, it can be used to automatically detect and track multiple mortar, cannon and rocket projectiles of various types in flight, to automatically classify projectiles and their respective firing positions, or to plot the impact coordinates of individual projectiles.

See you at
23^rd NATO Days in Ostrava & 14^th Czech Air Force Days!