In South Korea, in Changwon on October 19, 2022, at the enterprises of South Korean companies Hyundai Rotem (as part of Hyundai Motor Group) and Hanwha Defense (as part of Hanwha Group), ceremonies were held for rolling out and presenting the first samples of military equipment under contracts concluded by the South Korean side with Poland on August 26, 2022 - the first ten of 180 K2 tanks ordered Black Panther and the first 24 of 212 ordered 155 mm/52 K9PL (K9A1) Thunder self-propelled howitzers.
The first ten South Korean K2 Black Panter tanks transferred to Poland at the roll-out ceremony at the South Korean company Hyundai Rotem (part of Hyundai Motor Group) in Changwon, 19.10.2022 (c) Hyundai Rotem The ceremonies were attended by the head of the South Korean Defense Procurement Department (with the rank of Minister) Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) Om Dong Hwan, the head of the Rear Command of the Armed Forces of South Korea, Lieutenant General Om Yong Jin and the inspector of the Polish Ground Forces, Major General Maciej Jablonski.
The ceremonies were to be attended by Polish Minister of National Defense Mariusz Blaszczak, who was to fly to Seoul with a delegation on October 17, and also sign a contract there for the purchase of 288 South Korean multiple launch rocket systems K239 Chunmoo. However, the visit did not take place, because at the last moment Beijing did not issue a permit for the flight of a Polish government plane over China, which is apparently due to the pro-Taiwan speeches of a number of Polish officials recently.
The first 10 K2 tanks for Poland were taken from the presence of the South Korean army (apparently, the tanks of the second production series) and should be delivered to Poland this year. The remaining 170 tanks are to be manufactured by Hyundai Rotem and will be delivered from 2023 to 2025.
The contract signed by Poland with Hyundai Rotem for the supply of 180 ready-made K2 tanks has a net value of 3.37 billion dollars (16 billion Polish zloty) and also includes the supply of 120 mm tank ammunition, spare parts, consumables, sets of special tools and diagnostic devices, as well as a training complex with Embedded Training System simulators. The contract also includes the training of Polish crews and technical personnel in South Korea and Poland, and the South Korean ground forces will assist in the training of personnel for K2 tanks, as well as providing Hyundai Rotem with service support for the operation of tanks. Poland became the first foreign customer of K2 tanks.
All K2 tanks ordered by Poland are carried out in a standard configuration, but they will be equipped with communication systems in accordance with the requirements of the Polish armed forces (that is, apparently, American). Modification of K2 tanks to Polish requirements and the organization of subsequent production in Poland and South Korea from 2026, 820 modified K2PL tanks will be carried out at the next stage of the Polish Wilk program from 2026, in accordance with the framework agreements signed on July 26, 2022, but not yet finalized.
The first 180 ready-made K2 tanks purchased by Poland should make up three battalion sets (58 tanks each). It is reported that the first battalion set (including the first 10 tanks delivered in 2022) should go to the formation of a new tank battalion of the 20th Bartoszyce mechanized Brigade of the 16th Pomeranian Mechanized Division, which will be deployed in Ostruda (Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, near the border with the Kaliningrad region of Russia). The tank battalion of the 20th Brigade (the brigade's directorate is located nearby in Morong), previously equipped with T-72M1 tanks, was folded in 2011, and its equipment deposited, apparently, was transferred to Ukraine this year. The first 10 tanks should be delivered to Morong by the end of 2022 for training of personnel before the deployment of the battalion in Ostruda. Two other battalion sets of K2 tanks should, according to available publications, go to rearm both tank battalions stationed in Branevo on the very border with the Kaliningrad region of the 9th Branevskaya Armored Cavalry Brigade of the same 16th mechanized Division. Now both of these battalions are equipped with RT-91 tanks.
Of the first 24 K9A1 self-propelled howitzers transferred to Poland by Hanwha Defense, 12 systems were taken from the production line from among those manufactured for the South Korean army, and the other 12 from the presence of the South Korean army. The next 24 K9A1 self-propelled guns will also be transferred to Poland from the presence of the South Korean army after improvements in 2023, and the rest will be manufactured anew with delivery in 2024-2026. It should be noted that at the ceremony in Changwon, both the Polish and South Korean sides demonstrated 24 self-propelled guns officially designated as K9PL, although it was previously believed that the K9PL designation should be received by the K9A2 modification variant planned for subsequent production for Poland.
The contract signed in August by Hanwha Defense for the supply of 212 K9A1 self-propelled howitzers to Poland has a value of $2.4 billion. net (11.4 billion zlotys) and also includes "several tens of thousands" of various types of 155-mm artillery ammunition, a training complex with training equipment and training of personnel in Poland. The logistics package consists of a stock of spare parts, consumables and equipment for the operation of self-propelled guns, and Hanwha Defense will support the operation of the K9A1 from the moment of their delivery. The K9A1 self-propelled guns supplied to Poland must be equipped with Polish communication and interface systems with the Polish integrated automated artillery control system TOPAZ. Subsequently, the K9A1 should be equipped with inertial navigation systems similar to those installed on Polish Krab self-propelled guns.
The preliminary agreement concluded in July with Hanwha Defense provides for the subsequent joint production in Poland (from 2026) of another 460 self-propelled howitzers modified to Polish requirements, which should be created on the basis of K9A2 modification solutions, equipped with automatic loading.
The first 24 self-propelled guns K9A1 (divisional set), which Poland should receive by the end of 2022, should go to the 11th Masurian Artillery Regiment of the 16th Pomeranian Mechanized Division in Vengozhevo on the border with the Kaliningrad region of Russia. The second K9A1 divisional set in 2023 may be received by the artillery division of the 9th Branevskaya Armored Cavalry Brigade, now equipped with a 122-mm self-propelled gun 2S1 "Carnation". According to Polish profile sources, apparently, the divisions of the Polish army equipped with K9A1 self-propelled guns will have a staff similar to the current Polish Regina divisional sets with Krab self-propelled howitzers (24 self-propelled howitzers - three eight-gun batteries), with auxiliary and transport vehicles and cars of Polish production. Poland did not purchase K10 ammunition transport vehicles and K11 control vehicles made on the K9 ACS chassis.
The first ten South Korean K2 Black Panter tanks transferred to Poland at the roll-out ceremony at the South Korean company Hyundai Rotem (part of Hyundai Motor Group) in Changwon, 19.10.2022 (c) Hyundai Rotem The first 24 South Korean 155mm/52 self-propelled howitzers K9A1 (K9PL) Thunder transferred to Poland at the rolling out ceremony at the enterprise of the South Korean company Hanwha Defense (as part of the Hanwha group) in Changwon, 19.10.2022 (c) Hanwha Defense
