Poland just signed a landmark recording contract with Republic of Korea (South Korea) for the supply of Black Panther tanks.
Under a two-stage program, Poland is to acquire to purchase about 1,000 K2 variant tanks.
Poland is buying 180 K2 Black Panther tanks in Phase 1 and 800 Black Panther tanks in K2PL configuration will production in Poland in Phase 2.
Poland’s National Defence Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said the first installment of the 180 K2 Black Panthers will be procured this year.
“In the first batch, we will get 180 tanks; deliveries will start this year. The second stage is over 800 tanks of the K2PL standard, which will be produced in Poland by the Polish defence industry thanks to a transfer of technology we negotiated. Eventually, the tanks received in the first stage will also be Polonised and brought to the K2PL standard,” Błaszczak said.
South Korean-made K2 Black Panther tanks will join Poland’s growing arsenal of foreign-produced armor designed to replace the T-72 and PT-91 tanks it sent to Ukraine.
The K2 Black Panther is the main battle tank designed, developed, and manufactured in South Korea by the South Korean Company Hyundai Rotem. The K2 was unveiled for the first time to the public during the Defense Exhibition ADEX at the Seoul Airport in October 2009.
The main armament of the K2 Black Panther consists of a German-made Rheinmetall 120-mm/ L55 smoothbore gun produced under license in South Korea. The layout of the K2 MBT is conventional, with the driver’s compartment at the front, fighting compartment in the center and engine and transmission at the rear.
