Poland is pressing ahead with plans to manufacture up to 1,000 South Korean-made K2 tanks on home soil, even as its military acknowledges the growing dominance of drones on modern battlefields. The decision is driven partly by proximity to Russia — Polish forces patrol near Kaliningrad (a Russian exclave bordering northeastern Poland) and cite a standing threat from Moscow — and is backed by nearly €44 billion in low-interest EU loans under the SAFE programme, designed to reduce Europe's reliance on non-European arms suppliers. Military analysts argue that while drone capacity must be expanded, tanks remain essential for any offensive operations against an adversary like Russia, which is estimated to still field around 2,300 operational tanks.