Reports of faulty K2 tanks: What went wrong? How Defence24 got it right

K2 main battle tank in Poland

K2 main battle tanks are a crucial element of the Polish Land Forces’ equipment. The first purchase of those tanks dates back to 2022, when Poland dramatically accelerated its armed forces modernisation after Russia had invaded Ukraine – and Poland has subsequently provided Kyiv with more than 300 older-generation main battle tanks. Today, the Polish military has over 200 K2 MBTs, in a K2 Gap Filler variant (K2GF).

This version is broadly similar to the one used in the Republic of Korea Army, with some slight modifications regarding C2 systems. The Polish Army is to get 296 K2GFs in total by 2027, and from 2028, upgraded K2PL main battle tanks will be produced under licence in Poland (64 are on firm order under Executive Contract 2 and hundreds more are planned within the Framework Agreement). The “Gap Filler” version, as the name suggests, was necessary to fill the gaps that arose after donations to Ukraine.

Today, Polish K2s, except for a few used in training units, are divided into three brigades of the 16^th Mechanised Division, deployed to defend Poland against potential aggression from the Kaliningrad Oblast. The media interest rose around 20 October, when Polish journalist Mariusz Gierszewski of Radio Zet (a long-established private Polish radio station existing under that name since 1990) said that “nearly 30 K2 tanks” were out of order, with most in Braniewo (where one of the 16^th Division’s subordinate brigades, the 9th Armoured Cavalry Brigade, is situated).

Media coverage and response

At the time, on 21^st October, Defence24.pl reached out to the Polish MoD Armament Agency for comment. The spokesman for the Armament Agency, Col. Grzegorz Polak, said that “K2GF tanks have a fault rate comparable to other weapon systems being introduced into the Polish Armed Forces”. Col. Polak also said that the technical faults that occur are being repaired in cooperation with the contractor, and the fault rate does not significantly affect the readiness rates of the Land Forces units equipped with K2GF tanks.

While Col. Polak did not state the exact number of tanks undergoing repair or exact fault rates, his statement meant that the situation is normal and no negative effects on the Polish Armed Forces have been noted.

However, many media outlets adopted a different narrative. For instance, the Ukrainian Defense Express wrote on 22^nd October in an article titled “Poland Sees Nothing Wrong With 30 of 58 K2 Tanks Sitting Idle in Brigade Guarding Kaliningrad Border”, and the lead section of the article (which did include a reference to the Defence24.pl article of 21^st October) noted: “Armament Agency says South Korean K2s show same readiness as other equipment, but 9th Armoured Cavalry Brigade in Braniewo has over half its MBTs parked outside and unfit”.

At that moment, it was clear that there was a misstatement. The Armament Agency indeed said South Korean K2s show the same readiness as other equipment, but did not confirm the report of “over half” (or any number) of K2s being out of service. Despite mentioning the original statement from the Armament Agency, the authors apparently assumed that the 9^th Brigade had about 30 broken K2s and 58 K2s in total. Neither was officially confirmed, and neither was true, as we learned a few days later.

On 23^rd October, the French Meta Defense wrote a note referencing a very similar narrative to the one Defense Express shared (that more than 50% of the 9^th Brigade’s K2s are out of service). On 24^th October, Defence Blog covered it in a different way, mentioning that Poland has over 200 MBTs overall (which is correct), and said that the MoD neither confirmed nor denied the report. Defence Blog compared the alleged number of K2s out of service (approx. 30) with “over 200”, the accurate number of the Polish K2 MBT fleet. Different narratives based on those articles started appearing in media outlets, social media, and discussion forums.

Polish K2GF: How do things stand?

It is worth mentioning that the 9^th Brigade received 58 MBTs by 2025, and in 2026 it started receiving new batches of tanks (so that the total number in the Polish Army is over 200, and the Braniewo brigade itself has many more than 60 vehicles).

On 28^th October, after a repeated inquiry by Defence24.pl, the STRATCOM unit of the Armament Agency told Defence24.pl exclusively that only a few (fewer than 10) tanks are affected and taken out of service – both due to faults and planned standard maintenance.

“Like all military equipment, the K2 tank is subject to maintenance, servicing, and other technical issues arising from the continuous and day-to-day operation of the vehicles. Any technical faults that arise are rectified on an ongoing basis as part of warranty repairs, and their number and frequency do not affect the quality of the tasks carried out by the units or the capabilities of the Polish Armed Forces. Several (fewer than 10) tanks have been taken out of service, both due to faults and as part of standard maintenance” – as the STRATCOM unit of the Armament Agency told Defence24.pl.

If we take into account that Poland has 200 K2 MBTs, then only fewer than 5% of them are out of service both due to standard maintenance and repairs after faults occurred. This translates into very high availability, currently exceeding 95%. The Armament Agency never confirmed the initial reports of more outages occurring, but nevertheless, those have circulated in the media. Now, however, we have obtained the full picture.