On Friday, February 21, 2025, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defense Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, along with the Armament Agency, announced on social media that a shipment from the Republic of Korea had arrived in Poland with the first 2025 deliveries of K2GF Heuk-Pyo (Black Panther) tanks and 155mm K9A1 Thunder self-propelled howitzers.
Photos: Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, Armaments Agency via X
“The last few days have brought the Polish military further deliveries of new equipment. Over the past week, 14 K2 Black Panther tanks have been delivered to the Amber Division, and in the coming days, 8 K9 self-propelled howitzers, along with additional equipment, will arrive at the Iron Division. More tanks, howitzers, and launchers are already on their way – a strong Polish Army is the key to the security of all of Europe,” wrote the Minister of National Defense on the social media platform X.
“Here at the Armament Agency, Valentine’s Day is still ongoing – in recent days, we have received further shipments of 14 Korean K2 tanks and 8 K9 self-propelled howitzers. Soon, Polish soldiers will begin training on them,” reads the post on the Armament Agency’s profile.
As for the K2GF Heuk-Pyo (Black Panther) tanks, thanks to the new delivery, their number has increased to 98 units, while the number of K9A1 Thunder howitzers has reached 144 units. The previous deliveries took place on December 17, 2024.
Earlier, on January 24 of this year, another batch of 18 Homar-K (K239 Chunmoo) multiple launch rocket system modules arrived, bringing the total number to 90 units.
For the K2GF tanks, the delivery of the remaining 82 vehicles is planned for this year, which will allow for the completion of the first execution contract from August 26, 2022, valued at 3.37 billion USD net (15.98 billion PLN net / 19.65 billion PLN gross), covering a total of 180 units.
On December 9 of last year, Deputy Minister of National Defense Paweł Bejda conducted another round of talks with the Korean side regarding the signing of a second execution contract for the delivery of K2 tanks, along with the establishment of maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) capabilities and production of the K2PL variant in Poland. According to previous reports, this agreement is expected to include the delivery of 180 K2 tanks and 81 support vehicles, all as part of a framework agreement for a total of 1,000 K2GF/PL tanks.
Deliveries of K9A1 Thunder howitzers are being carried out under the first execution contract dated August 26, 2022, valued at 2.4 billion USD net (11.38 billion PLN net / 13.99 billion PLN gross), signed with Hanwha Defense (now Hanwha Aerospace). According to this contract, a total of 212 K9A1 howitzers will be delivered between 2022 and 2026.
On December 1, 2023, the Armament Agency signed a second execution contract worth 2.6 billion USD net (10.33 billion PLN net / 12.81 billion PLN gross) for the delivery of an additional 6 K9A1 howitzers in 2025 and 146 K9PL howitzers in 2026-2027. On December 2, 2024, the Ministry of National Defense announced the commencement of this order’s implementation.
Meanwhile, on December 23, 2024, the ministry signed a contract worth nearly 8 billion PLN with Huta Stalowa Wola (HSW), a company within the Polish Armaments Group (PGZ), for the delivery of over 250 accompanying vehicles for the K9 self-propelled howitzers.
It is worth adding that on January 21 of this year, in response to an interpellation from a group of MPs regarding the situation at Wojskowe Zakłady Motoryzacyjne (WZM, Military Automotive Works), Minister of State Assets Jakub Jaworowski stated that negotiations are underway concerning the co-production of additional M1A2SEPv3 Abrams tanks in Poland. However, all indications suggest that these talks are not yet taking place at the level of the Ministry of National Defense and the Armament Agency.
Ostatnie dni przyniosły polskiemu wojsku kolejne dostawy nowego sprzętu. W mijającym tygodniu do #BursztynowaDywizja trafiło 14 czołgów K2 Czarna Pantera, w najbliższych dniach do #ŻelaznaDywizja dojedzie 8 haubic samobieżnych K9, wraz z dodatkowym wyposażeniem. Kolejne czołgi,… pic.twitter.com/CriBEqUjnV
— Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz (@KosiniakKamysz) February 21, 2025
U nas, w #AgencjaUzbrojenia Walentynki wciąż trwają 🤍❤️ – w ostatnich dniach przyjęliśmy kolejne transporty 14 koreańskich czołgów K2 i 8 haubic samobieżnych K9. Niebawem 🇵🇱 żołnierze będą się na nich szkolić 💪. pic.twitter.com/hXW1QkJ4OU
— Agencja Uzbrojenia (@AgencjaUzbr) February 21, 2025
