The Polish minister announced this after a meeting with his South Korean counterpart held in Warsaw on June 20. Under this new deal, Poland intends to order a specific variant of the K2 main battle tank tailored to the requirements of the Polish Armed Forces and equipped with subsystems developed by local companies. This version of the K2 tanks is dubbed the K2PL.
According to Poland’s defence minister Kosiniak-Kamysz, the goal of the Polish government is to launch the production of K2PL main battle tanks in Poland. However, negotiations with the South Korean defence ministry and Hyundai Rotem, the manufacturer of the K2 tank, are still ongoing.
In August 2022, the Polish defence procurement agency signed a contract with Hyundai Rotem for a total of 180 K2 Black Panther main battle tanks with deliveries scheduled for 2022-2025. This deal is valued at USD 3.37 billion. Earlier, Poland and Hyundai Rotem signed a large framework agreement for the procurement of a total of 180 K2 Black Panther and up to 820 K2PL main battle tanks, which will be produced in Poland under a license.
As Defence Industry Europe reported, the South Korean company Hyundai Rotem is interested in deep technology cooperation with local defence industry companies in Poland and other European countries. The company offers the K2 Black Panther main battle tank to the Romanian land forces, and its proposal includes industry cooperation as well.
