On Thursday, October 3, 2024, a transport ship carrying another six K2 Heuk-Pyo (Black Panther) tanks in the GF (Gap Filler) version arrived at the port of Świnoujście. This brings the total number of these combat vehicles delivered, ordered from the Republic of Korea, to 62 so far (Green light for the Korean power pack for K2 tanks).
Photo: Junior Warrant Officer Daniel Wójcik
“Recently, Poland has become home to an increasing number of predators. On Thursday, a new delivery of 6 K2 Black Panther tanks arrived at the port of Świnoujście,” reads a post on the Armament Agency’s profile on the social media platform X.
“Great news for Polish tankers. Yesterday, a ship carrying 6 K2 Black Panther tanks was unloaded. This is not the end of the positive news – soon we will be able to announce the arrival of more heavy equipment for the Polish Armed Forces, which is currently on its way to a Polish port,” added Paweł Bejda, Secretary of State in the Ministry of National Defense, responsible for overseeing the technical modernization of the Polish Armed Forces.
Yesterday’s reception of the K2 tanks marks the sixth delivery of these vehicles to Poland this year. Previous deliveries took place on March 11 (3 units), March 17 (4 units), March 19 (11 units), August 23 (5 units), and September 11 (5 units).
According to the declared schedule, the South Korean company Hyundai Rotem Company (HRC) is set to deliver a total of 56 vehicles to Poland in 2024, meaning there are still 28 remaining.
The handover of the first batch of 10 tanks took place on December 9, 2022, the second batch, consisting of 5 units, on March 22, 2023, the third batch, consisting of 7 units, on May 19, 2023, and the fourth batch, consisting of 6 units, on June 16, 2023. This means that a total of 62 tanks have been delivered so far. Furthermore, the remaining 96 units are scheduled to be delivered by the end of 2025.
The deliveries of K2 Heuk-Pyo (Black Panther) tanks to the Polish Armed Forces are the result of an executive agreement dated August 26, 2022, valued at 3.37 billion USD net (15.98 billion PLN net / 19.65 billion PLN gross), signed between the Armament Agency of the Ministry of National Defense and Hyundai Rotem Company (HRC). According to this agreement, a total of 180 tanks will be delivered to Poland between 2022 and 2025.
At the beginning of March this year, K2GF tanks participated in the Dragon-24 maneuvers – the largest exercises held in Poland, where they operated alongside other NATO tanks for the first time.
The K2 Black Panther is a South Korean 3+ generation main battle tank. Its primary armament is a 120 mm smoothbore cannon with an autoloader, capable of using the latest types of ammunition. The secondary armament includes a 7.62 mm machine gun and a 12.7 mm heavy machine gun. The tank’s advanced fire control system ensures high accuracy at long ranges. The K2’s armor, even in its standard configuration, provides high ballistic and anti-mine resistance, which can be further enhanced by active protection systems such as soft-kill (VIRSS) and hard-kill (KAPS) systems. It is powered by a 1,500 horsepower diesel engine paired with an automatic transmission, providing high speed and mobility across various terrains. The tank features a relatively low weight of 55 tons and is equipped with hydropneumatic suspension.
Meanwhile, on July 9 of this year, the Polish Armaments Group (PGZ) and Hyundai Rotem Company signed a new consortium agreement, which will serve as the basis for awarding the consortium a contract for the delivery of K2PL tanks to the Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland. The PGZ-HRC consortium expects the contract to be awarded by the end of 2024.
In 2022, a Framework Agreement was signed between the Armament Agency and Hyundai Rotem Company, which provides for the delivery of 820 K2 tanks in the K2PL configuration, with 500 of these K2PL tanks to be produced in Poland. The agreement also includes accompanying vehicles, a logistics package, a training package, ammunition, and support.
Meanwhile, the quoted minister, Paweł Bejda, is currently ended an official visit to South Korea, where discussions are being helded on topics including another executive agreement for K2 tanks and their production in the K2PL version in Poland.
https://twitter.com/AgencjaUzbr/status/1842150602836525239
— Paweł Bejda (@pawelbejda) October 4, 2024