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Poland is using the strategy of "Showing Teeth" - which means that it is doing everything to actually make any country think twice before attacking. Having hug

by funkyy 12y ago

Poland is using the strategy of "Showing Teeth" - which means that it is doing everything to actually make any country think twice before attacking. Having huge stockpile of artillery and armoured vehicles it is very difficult enemy to have. Recognizing this as perfect way to deter enemies (mainly Russia) Poland have been investing resources on growing woods (for hiding) and developing newest artillery and "hit and run" vehicles and equipment. You would be surprised what they have in development at the moment. After all - Poland just started huge shopping spree - they started enormous arm up project, so we will see more of those ultra high tech stuff showing up soon.

M4v3R 12y ago
The problem is that most other countries do know that we are only "showing teeth" and that Poland actually doesn't have a big supply of these things, and the one we have are outdated as hell. This concept probably hopes to change that image a little bit.
jonnathanson 12y ago
Poland is going to be a very interesting country to watch over the next 10-20 years. It has one of the fastest growing economies in Europe, a sizable population, and geopolitically speaking, a very long memory. Tensions with Russia are going to mount in the coming decades as Poland's economy grows, and Russia's slows down. I doubt they'd come to blows, least of all in the near future. But Poland is going to gear up, just in case. A lot of this will come from Poland's desire to reduce its dependence on the US. Poland and the US have cooperated, militarily and politically, more reliably than most European countries have. But in light of recent events in Eastern Europe, the US is starting to look like a less-than-reliable backstop.
- yogthos 12y ago
  Why would Russian economy be slowing down exactly again, seems to be doing quite the opposite last I checked.
  - jessaustin 12y ago
    Keep up with current events! http://www.nasdaq.com/markets/crude-oil.aspx http://www.nasdaq.com/markets/crude-oil.aspx
  - jonnathanson 12y ago
    The vast majority of Russia's economic growth is coming from oil and gas reserves, especially the latter. That's a notoriously shaky ground on which to build an economic expansion as rapid as Russia's has been in the last few years. Extremely volatile over the long run. It doesn't help that most of that wealth is being captured by a handful of government-sanctioned plutocrats, and by government officials themselves (Putin most especially; he is rumored to have a personal net worth in excess of $70 billion). A very small proportion is actually being reinvested into productive and petrochemical-diverse industry. To make matters worse, the country suffers from some major demography issues. Its birthrate is problematic, and its population is old. It is one of the few major industrialized nations whose population is expected to contract significantly over the next century. There is very little stability underpinning Russia's economy. It's wobbly, as is, right now. It'll be wobblier still over the next 10-20 years.
  - ajuc 12y ago
    Russian GPD growth is oil price proxy :)
- jn1234 12y ago
  >But in light of recent events in Eastern Europe, the US is starting to look like a less-than-reliable backstop. I think that Poland is somewhat satisfied with the response the US had at least in Poland and other NATO allies, which was stationing more troops there. The US is tied in how far it will be willing to go to countries outside of its NATO commitments. Ukraine wasn't simply worth going to war over Russia with. I don't think that anyone doubts the US' resolve to follow through with its NATO commitments.
javert 12y ago
Apparently it's going to start production in 2018 and be ready in 2022. They sure are taking their time. A lot can change in that much time. For instance, Russian foreign policy.
mercurial 12y ago
> Having huge stockpile of artillery and armoured vehicles it is very difficult enemy to have. The media went on and on about Iraq having "the 4th largest army in the world" during the first Gulf War. In the end, this amounted to a lot of people in uniform dying when the bombs collapsed their shelters or blowing up in their Soviet-era tanks. Having land-based vehicles doesn't amount for much nowadays if you don't have air superiority as well.
- nknighthb 12y ago
  Even setting aside Poland's own small but well-equipped air force, anyone trying to establish air superiority over Poland is going spend a lot of money getting nowhere. German and American fighters on alert are an hour away, and the British and French won't be far behind. Ground forces take a lot more time. The day spent waiting for the first elements of allied rapid deployment forces is an eternity when your capital is 100 miles from Belarus.
  - funkyy 12y ago
    Also thats why I stressed the woods thing - its very easy to hide equipment in woods. Poland have one of the best wood management systems in Europe. In Iraq army was exposed, air attacks were easy. In Poland or lets say Finland, Norway - woods give superior cover of army movements. Also Poland have developed one of the best manpads around - check their performance during Georgian war: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grom_(missile) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grom_(missile) and are advance in production of "chameleon" screens for tanks and armoured vehicles that make them invisible to infantry and optic devices from distance.
    - aragot 12y ago
      Checking back on hiding this tank in forest vs in snow, they say they have a temperature-controlled cover. I can see how it works in desert by heating up to the temp of the sand, but anyone knows whether they can make their temperature appear lower too?

by funkyy 12y ago

M4v3R 12y ago

The problem is that most other countries do know that we are only "showing teeth" and that Poland actually doesn't have a big supply of these things, and the one we have are outdated as hell. This concept probably hopes to change that image a little bit.

jonnathanson 12y ago

Poland is going to be a very interesting country to watch over the next 10-20 years. It has one of the fastest growing economies in Europe, a sizable population, and geopolitically speaking, a very long memory. Tensions with Russia are going to mount in the coming decades as Poland's economy grows, and Russia's slows down. I doubt they'd come to blows, least of all in the near future. But Poland is going to gear up, just in case. A lot of this will come from Poland's desire to reduce its dependence on the US. Poland and the US have cooperated, militarily and politically, more reliably than most European countries have. But in light of recent events in Eastern Europe, the US is starting to look like a less-than-reliable backstop.

yogthos 12y ago
Why would Russian economy be slowing down exactly again, seems to be doing quite the opposite last I checked.
- jessaustin 12y ago
  Keep up with current events! http://www.nasdaq.com/markets/crude-oil.aspx http://www.nasdaq.com/markets/crude-oil.aspx
- jonnathanson 12y ago
  The vast majority of Russia's economic growth is coming from oil and gas reserves, especially the latter. That's a notoriously shaky ground on which to build an economic expansion as rapid as Russia's has been in the last few years. Extremely volatile over the long run. It doesn't help that most of that wealth is being captured by a handful of government-sanctioned plutocrats, and by government officials themselves (Putin most especially; he is rumored to have a personal net worth in excess of $70 billion). A very small proportion is actually being reinvested into productive and petrochemical-diverse industry. To make matters worse, the country suffers from some major demography issues. Its birthrate is problematic, and its population is old. It is one of the few major industrialized nations whose population is expected to contract significantly over the next century. There is very little stability underpinning Russia's economy. It's wobbly, as is, right now. It'll be wobblier still over the next 10-20 years.
- ajuc 12y ago
  Russian GPD growth is oil price proxy :)
jn1234 12y ago
>But in light of recent events in Eastern Europe, the US is starting to look like a less-than-reliable backstop. I think that Poland is somewhat satisfied with the response the US had at least in Poland and other NATO allies, which was stationing more troops there. The US is tied in how far it will be willing to go to countries outside of its NATO commitments. Ukraine wasn't simply worth going to war over Russia with. I don't think that anyone doubts the US' resolve to follow through with its NATO commitments.

javert 12y ago

Apparently it's going to start production in 2018 and be ready in 2022. They sure are taking their time. A lot can change in that much time. For instance, Russian foreign policy.

mercurial 12y ago

> Having huge stockpile of artillery and armoured vehicles it is very difficult enemy to have. The media went on and on about Iraq having "the 4th largest army in the world" during the first Gulf War. In the end, this amounted to a lot of people in uniform dying when the bombs collapsed their shelters or blowing up in their Soviet-era tanks. Having land-based vehicles doesn't amount for much nowadays if you don't have air superiority as well.

nknighthb 12y ago
Even setting aside Poland's own small but well-equipped air force, anyone trying to establish air superiority over Poland is going spend a lot of money getting nowhere. German and American fighters on alert are an hour away, and the British and French won't be far behind. Ground forces take a lot more time. The day spent waiting for the first elements of allied rapid deployment forces is an eternity when your capital is 100 miles from Belarus.
- funkyy 12y ago
  Also thats why I stressed the woods thing - its very easy to hide equipment in woods. Poland have one of the best wood management systems in Europe. In Iraq army was exposed, air attacks were easy. In Poland or lets say Finland, Norway - woods give superior cover of army movements. Also Poland have developed one of the best manpads around - check their performance during Georgian war: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grom_(missile) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grom_(missile) and are advance in production of "chameleon" screens for tanks and armoured vehicles that make them invisible to infantry and optic devices from distance.
  - aragot 12y ago
    Checking back on hiding this tank in forest vs in snow, they say they have a temperature-controlled cover. I can see how it works in desert by heating up to the temp of the sand, but anyone knows whether they can make their temperature appear lower too?