Future Polish army K2 tanks to be manufactured and serviced locally.

According to a tweet posted on March 2 by the Polish Deputy Prime Minister Mariusz Błaszczak, the South Korean K2PL Black Panther main battle tanks recently purchased will be serviced, repaired and manufactured at the Military Automotive Works in Poznań.
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Polish Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Mariusz Błaszczak said:  “Here at WZM in Poznań state-of-the-art K2 tanks will be serviced, repaired, and produced. This is good news for the region as it will bring more new jobs and ensure keeping the jobs created earlier” (Picture source: Twitter account of Mariusz Błaszczak)

“Here at WZM in Poznań state-of-the-art K2 tanks will be serviced, repaired, and produced. This is good news for the region as it will bring more new jobs and ensure keeping the jobs created earlier”.

The Poznań plant will carry out joint production of the Polish version of K2 tanks (K2PL) and accompanying vehicles, as agreed by the Korean company Hyundai Rotem Company and Polish defense industry consortium Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa.

On December 9, 2022, Poland received its first K2Pl Black Panther tanks from South Korea. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Mariusz Błaszczak then said: “Things have accelerated. On August 26, I approved the contract to purchase K2 tanks for the Polish Armed Forces' equipment. Today, the first examples of these tanks, which arrived in the port of Gdynia a few days ago, are here in the earmarked military unit, in the 20th Mechanized Brigade - a brigade which thanks to the delivery of the K2 tank battalion to Morąg grows. We intend to create another battalion in Ostróda, in the very place where in 2011 the government of the PO-PSL coalition liquidated the previously existing military unit”.

December 9, 2022. Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Mariusz Błaszczak met in Morąg with the soldiers of the 20th Mechanized Brigade - the unit to which the first copies of the Korean K2 tanks are dispatched (Picture source: Polish government)

So, on December 9, 2022, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Mariusz Błaszczak met in Morąg with the soldiers of the 20th Mechanized Brigade - the unit to which the first copies of the Korean K2 tanks are dispatched. With the tanks, the first batch of ammunition and spare parts was delivered. At the same time, the training of Polish soldiers, who will form the crews of K2 tanks, was underway in South Korea.

In July 2022, a framework agreement for the acquisition of K2 tanks along with accompanying vehicles, i.e. technical support vehicles, engineering support vehicles and accompanying bridges and other elements based on Polish solutions, as well as a training and logistics package, ammunition supplies and technical support of the manufacturer, was concluded with Hyundai Rotem.

Mariusz Błaszczak commented: “We strengthen the Polish Armed Forces as our priority is our Homeland’s security. We are consistent in this course of action. I am highly satisfied that in such a short time we have achieved success in the shape of the highest quality military equipment’s arrival in Poland so swiftly, and now is in the hands of Polish soldiers - great and experienced soldiers who are prepared to effectively defend our Homeland”

Moreover, the K9A1 self-propelled howitzers will soon be in the Polish Armed Forces’ equipment. The framework agreement concluded with Hanwha Defense covers the acquisition of a total of 672 K9A1 self-propelled howitzers and its Polish K9PL development version along with accompanying vehicles, as well as training and logistics packages, ammunition supplies and manufacturer's technical support.

"One can say that either you have something to defend yourself with and you don't have to use it, or you have nothing to do so but you are forced to do it. We wish to have such a strong army, such a well-modernized army and modern equipment that no one dares to attack Poland. Our predecessors thought that they could scrimp money on the army budget. We invest in the most modern equipment as we know that savings at the cost of the armed forces are pseudo-savings and pseudo-investments that arise caused by these savings",  Prime Minister Morawiecki stressed.

The head of the Ministry of National Defense emphasized that the supplies of equipment from South Korea are one of the elements in the process of the Polish Armed Forces’ technical modernization.

“The military equipment that we order goes to the east of our country, to NATO’s eastern flank. But I also wanted to emphasize that it is not, as some say, that we order equipment only after February 24. Let me remind you: 2018 - the Patriots’ agreement, the Patriots are already on Polish soil; 2019 - Himars, delivery of the first launchers next year; 2020 - F-35, unfortunately only in 2024; 2021 - Turkish Bayraktars, well-proven in Ukraine, already in the equipment of the Polish Armed Forces, 2021 and 2022 - Abrams. And as for cooperation with South Korea: 12 more FA50 aircraft will be delivered next year." – said the head of the Ministry of National Defense.

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The K2 Black Panther tank, which was supplied to the 20th Mechanized Brigade, is a South Korean 3+ generation MBT. Its main armament is a 120 mm smoothbore gun with an autoloader that can use the latest types of ammunition. Auxiliary armament is a 7.62 mm machine gun and a 12.7 mm heavy machine gun. The tank's advanced fire control system ensures high efficiency of fire at long distances.

The armor of the K2 tank is in the standard configuration, which can be additionally supplemented with active protection systems such as soft kill (VIRSS) and hard kill (KAPS), and ensures high ballistic and anti-mine resistance. The motor is a diesel engine with a power of 1500 hp with an automatic gearbox, which ensures high speed and mobility in any possible terrain. The tank is characterized by a relatively low weight of 55 tons and the use of hydropneumatic suspension.

Defense News March 2023