Polish-Korean Consortium Created. K2 Tanks to be Manufactured in Poznan

The agreement regarding the consortium was signed by and between the PGZ Group, the WZM facility, and Hyundai Rotem. The establishment of the consortium was necessary for continuing the talks with the Armament Agency, on the Polonized K2 main battle tanks offered to the Polish Armed Forces, within the framework of Polish-Korean industrial cooperation.

As Sebastian Chwałek, President at the PGZ Group said: "The agreement signed today constitutes an important milestone in the cooperation between the PGZ Group, and the South Korean partner of ours - in case of the main battle tanks we are referring to Hyundai Rotem. The consortium that we have established is placed at the foundation of our further talks on the involvement of the remaining companies within the group, in a subcontracting role, when manufacturing the K2PL main battle tanks. Now, within the framework of a dialogue with the Ordering Party, the Armament Agency, we are going to arrange the procurement details."

As Chwałek said, advanced works are underway, on preparing the remaining companies within the group to take part in the programme. Apart from the WZM facility that also remains a party to the agreement, Stalowa Wola and Kalisz are listed among key locations where the manufacturing of the main battle tanks and their components would be taking place.

This is the second agreement on the establishment of industrial cooperation regarding the K2 MBTs. Earlier on, on 23rd February this year, the PGZ Group, and the WZM, jointly with Hyundai Rotem, signed a Teaming Agreement agreement defining the key areas of cooperation referring to the K2PL main battle tanks.

Apart from the main battle tanks themselves, the agreement also covers the manufacturing of support vehicles based on the K2PL MBT. Those vehicles could be developed with significant input from the Polish defence industry. As PGZ announced, unique design solutions developed by the Polish engineers may also be an interesting proposal for the Koreans.

"Within the framework of further performance contracts, it is planned that military units would receive polonized main battle tanks and support vehicles, based on the K-2PL platform. Both the main battle tanks, as well as the tracked support vehicles, would be manufactured at WZM", PGZ Group stresses. In Poland, within the PGZ and WZM structures, a comprehensive support and maintenance system is to be devised, for the main battle tanks and the support platforms.

The framework agreement signed in July last year, on delivery of K2/K2PL main battle tanks, assumes that 1,000 vehicles in total would be transferred to the Armed Forces. The first 180 MBTs, and a logistics/training package, plus munitions, were ordered directly from Hyundai Rotem, for USD 3.43 bn. 15 of these have already been delivered. All are expected to be transferred into the hands of the Polish user by 2025. Further platforms would come in the K2PL variant, tailored to the prospective requirements of the Polish Armed Forces. These would be manufactured based on industrial cooperation. The use of domestically-manufactured components is envisaged for the K2PL variant as well.