On Sunday, March 9, 2025, the South Korean news agency Yonhap, citing government officials in Seoul, reported that the second contract for K2 Heuk-Pyo (Black Panther) tanks with Poland is expected no earlier than April this year.
K2GF / Photo: 16th Mechanized Division
As reported, the contract, valued at 9 trillion KRW / 6.2 billion USD (23.98 billion PLN), is expected to cover an additional 180 K2 tanks (and, according to previous reports, also 81 support vehicles).
According to the report, it was initially expected that both sides would reach an agreement on the contract last year. However, the schedule was delayed due to disagreements between the Polish government and the Korean manufacturer, Hyundai Rotem, over contract details, as well as the political turmoil following the brief declaration of martial law by the ousted South Korean president, Yoon Suk-yeol, on December 3.
During the bilateral meeting of Foreign Ministers Radosław Sikorski and Cho Tae-yul, held in Warsaw on March 5, both sides agreed to provide full support for the swift finalization of the second round of the K2 tank contract and the further development of defense cooperation (Further Polish-Korean talks at the Ministry of National Defense).
Meanwhile, on February 21 of this year, the first shipment of Korean weaponry for 2024 arrived in Poland, including 14 K2GF tanks from the first contract for 180 units, signed on August 26, 2022, with a net value of 3.37 billion USD (15.98 billion PLN net / 19.65 billion PLN gross). This delivery increased the total number of K2 tanks in Poland to 98.
On December 9 of last year, Deputy Minister of National Defense Paweł Bejda held another round of negotiations with the Korean side regarding the signing of the second contract for the delivery of K2 tanks, along with the establishment of maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) and production capabilities in Poland for the K2PL variant. According to previous reports, this contract is expected to include the delivery of 180 K2 tanks and 81 support vehicles, all within the framework agreement for a total of 1,000 K2GF/PL tanks.