Black Panthers to be Built in Poland. K2PL Deal Signed

On behalf of Hyundai Rotem, the agreement was signed by Mr. Lee Yong-Bae, CEO of the South Korean corporation. The signing took place in the presence of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defence Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, Minister of Defence of the Republic of Korea Gyu-Back Ahn, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Poland Jun Youl Tae, Secretary of State at the Ministry of National Defence Paweł Bejda, and Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of State Assets Konrad Gołota at the Bumar-Łabędy facility in Gliwice.

Almost 7 billion USD contract

ZM Bumar-Łabędy is is where the vast majority of tanks in the licensed version will be built, and where support vehicles will also be produced. The agreement covers the delivery of 180 K2GF and K2PL tanks, as well as 81 support vehicles based on the K2 MBT - 25 Combat Engineering Vehicles, 25 Armored Bridge Layers, and 31 Armored Recovery Vehicles, a logistics and training package, ammunition, and extensive technology transfer.

In his speech, Deputy Prime Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz referred to the anniversary of the Warsaw Uprising and the signing of the agreement on the anniversary of the Warsaw Uprising. He also referred to the transfer of technology, saying that “we are building arms factories throughout Poland” and that “the transfer of technology concerns everyone.” “Poland is gaining the ability to produce tanks thanks to this agreement,” added the Deputy Prime Minister, pointing out that 61 of the tanks will be in a Polish version, which will be “richer and better” than the GF version currently being delivered.

Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz stated that the financial terms of the agreement are better than they would have been if it had been concluded a year ago. He also emphasized the importance of the strategic partnership with the Republic of Korea. The head of the Ministry of National Defence also stated that the capabilities of the land and armored forces are one of the priorities in terms of the potential expected by NATO within the framework of joint defence planning. The minister personally thanked Col. Piotr Paluch, deputy head of the Armament Agency (Agencja Uzbrojenia, AU) involved in negotiating the agreement together with the entire AU team, as well as the authorities and representatives of PGZ, Hyundai Rotem, and Bumar-Łabędy.

The contract is worth USD 6.5 billion, and deliveries will begin in 2026, ensuring the continuity of K2PL tank supplies to the Polish Armed Forces. 116 K2GF tanks will be delivered in 2026-2027, and 64 in the K2PL variant in 2028-2030. The contract is very detailed, has about 1,200 pages, and was negotiated for 1.5 years. A key element is also the transfer of technology for the production of the tank and its selected components, as well as repairs, maintenance, refurbishment, and modernization. The support vehicles will be produced in Poland, and designed in cooperation with the Polish industry, the delivery schedule for support vehicles ranges from 2029 to 2031.

This is the second executive agreement to the framework agreement for 1,000 K2 and K2PL tanks, signed in July 2022 by the Ministry of National Defence. The first agreement, for 180 K2GF tanks, was signed in August 2022, and to date, over 130 of the 180 tanks ordered have already been delivered. All the rest should enter service this year. The K2GF tanks from the first contract are being delivered to units of the 16th Mechanized Division: the 20th Mechanized Brigade, the 9th Armored Cavalry Brigade, and the 15th Giżycko Mechanized Brigade.

Defence24.pl was the first to report on the planned signing of the contract for K2PL tanks on August 1.

K2 Black Panther

The K2 Black Panther is a Main Battle Tank from South Korea manufactured by Hyundai Rotem Company. The vehicle has a crew of three: a driver, a gunner, and a commander. Its main armament is a 120 mm CN08 smoothbore gun with a barrel length of 55 calibers (6.6 meters). The ammunition supply is 40 rounds of 120 x 570 mm, 16 of which are located in an automatic loader in the rear niche of the turret, and 24 are located in the hull magazine on the right side of the driver’s station. The tank is equipped with an advanced fire control system with hunter-killer/killer-killer capability and an automatic target tracking system (autotracker). The cannon is coupled with a universal 7.62 mm M60E2 machine gun. It is supplemented by a 12.7 mm K6 heavy machine gun (licensed M2 Browning) mounted on the turret roof. The tank is powered by a 1,500 hp engine, supported by a modern transmission. The tank is characterized by very good mobility and has an in-arm hydropneumatic suspension. It also has an open architecture.