As part of their industrial defense cooperation, South Korea and Poland signed a new agreement this Friday for the acquisition of 180 K2 Black Panther tanks. The contract signing took place in Gliwice, southern Poland, with the presence of South Korean Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back and his Polish counterpart Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, who led the ceremony alongside representatives from Hyundai Rotem and Poland’s Armament Agency.
The new contract, valued at USD 6.5 billion, covers the purchase of a second batch of K2 Black Panther tanks manufactured by Hyundai Rotem to equip the Polish Armed Forces. Besides the 180 main battle tanks, the package includes 81 armored support vehicles, as well as clauses aimed at jointly developing localized variants and promoting tank production on Polish soil.
Of the 180 K2 tanks acquired by Poland, 117 will be manufactured by Hyundai Rotem in South Korea, while the remaining 63 will be produced locally by the state-owned company Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa (PGZ). According to Polish authorities, 116 of these tanks will be delivered by 2027 in the K2GF configuration, while the remaining 64 units—corresponding to the K2PL variant—will be manufactured in the following years in Polish territory.
Specifically, 61 of the K2PL units will be assembled at Bumar-Łabędy facilities, with a significant percentage of components supplied by PGZ Group companies, which will also be involved in designing the support vehicles included in the contract. This distribution aims to advance the shared goal of joint industrialization of the program and open the door to future exports from Poland to third countries.
It is important to recall that this second batch is part of an ambitious program launched by Warsaw after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, aiming at a rapid modernization and expansion of its armored capabilities. In 2022, Poland had already signed a contract for an initial supply of 180 K2 tanks, valued at USD 3.37 billion, which also included 48 KAI FA-50 light fighters and 212 K9 Thunder self-propelled howitzers.
Currently, the Polish Land Forces are actively receiving and incorporating the tank shipments from South Korea, with the first batch delivered in December 2022. The latest recorded delivery occurred in March of this year, when twelve additional tanks were added, reaching a total of 110 vehicles assigned to the 16th Mechanized Division, one of the Polish Army’s main units deployed in the country’s east. It is expected that the remaining 70 units will be completed by the end of 2025.
Finally, the new agreement not only addresses the operational needs of the Polish military but also forms part of a broader strategy of technological cooperation and joint production between both countries. For South Korea, this solidifies its position as a key strategic partner for Poland in defense, while expanding its presence in the European market through agreements that go beyond bilateral relations. An example of this expansion is Romania, which has already formalized the purchase of K9 Thunder self-propelled howitzers and is currently evaluating the K2 Black Panther as a potential main battle tank.
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