After months of negotiations, Poland signed on August 1, 2025 the second executive contract for the supply of 180 K2 tanks with Hyundai Rotem.
The ceremony took place at the Bumar-łabędy factory in Gliwice, and was attended by Poland’s deputy minister and minister of National Defense, Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, and South Korean Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-Baek.
The agreement, worth $ 6.5 billion, provides for the delivery of 116 tanks in the K2GF South Korean version between 2026 and 2027, plus 64 tanks in the Polish K2PL version between 2028 and 2030. The final assembly of 61 K2PL tanks will be held at Bumar-łDędy, marking the beginning of national production. The first three K2PL will be manufactured in South Korea, undergoing modification tests based on the K2GF version.
The contract also includes the acquisition of about 80 K2 chassis support vehicles, including 31 technical support vehicles, 25 engineering vehicles and 25 bridge launchers. The delivery of these equipment is scheduled for the period between 2029 and 2031. Companies of the Armaments Polish group, such as Obrum Sp. Z OO and Bumar-łabędy itself, will be involved in the development of these systems.
In addition to vehicles, the package includes a vast set of logistics support and training, with 120 mm ammunition, small caliber ammunition, spare parts, specialized tools, test equipment and technical documentation. Also foreseen are embedded ET simulators and training for instructors, crews and maintenance teams.
A key point of the contract is the transfer of technology. Hyundai Rotate will provide the Polish factory the necessary equipment to start the local K2PL and derived vehicles, as well as establishing B2B cooperation terms between Korean and Polish companies in the industrial defense sector.
During the signature ceremony, General Artur Kuptel, head of the Poland’s armament agency, and the president of Hyundai Rotem, Yongbae Lee, formalized the agreement. After the event, the defense ministers of both countries held a bilateral meeting to discuss the expansion of security cooperation and ongoing defense projects. “Important topics included industrial collaboration, technology transfer and weapon production in Poland,” said Kosiniak-Kamysz in his social network account.
In recent years, Poland has been established as a strategic partner of South Korea in defense agreements. In addition to the K2 tanks, the country has already acquired 288 Chunmoo rocket launchers, 672 self-propelled K9 obuses and 48 FA-50 Training and Combat aircraft.
Source and images: x @kosiniakamysz. This content was created with the help of AI and revised by the editorial team.
