On December 6, 2022, the first batch of South Korean-made military equipment purchased by Poland under large-scale contracts concluded with the South Korean side on August 26, 2022 - the first ten of 180 ordered K2 Black Panther tanks and the first 24 of 212 ordered 155-mm/52 tanks was delivered to the Polish port of Gdynia by the Pearl Air Force sea transport vessel from South Korea K9PL (K9A1) Thunder self-propelled howitzers. Polish President Andrzej Duda, Polish Minister of National Defense Mariusz Blaszczak and Head of the Polish National Security Bureau Jacek Severa took part in the ceremony of the equipment's reception.
Polish President Andrzej Duda and Polish Minister of National Defense Mariusz Blaszczak at a welcoming ceremony in Gdynia for the first ten K2 Black Panther tanks and the first 24 K9PL (K9A1) Thunder self-propelled howitzers delivered from South Korea from among those ordered by the Polish side under contracts dated August 2022, 06.12.2022 (c) Ministry of National Defense of Poland Earlier, the ceremonies of rolling out and handing over to the Polish side of the first 10 tanks and the first 24 self-propelled howitzers K9PL (K9A1) Thunder took place in South Korea in Changwon at the enterprises, respectively, of the South Korean companies Hyundai Rotem (as part of Hyundai Motor Group) and Hanwha Defense (as part of the Hanwha Group), on October 19, 2022.
The first 10 K2 tanks for Poland were actually taken from the presence of the South Korean army (apparently, tanks of the second production series). The remaining 170 tanks are to be manufactured by Hyundai Rotem and will be delivered from 2023 to 2025. It is reported that 18 of these new-made K2 tanks are to arrive in Poland in 2023, 56 in 2024 and the last 96 in 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 executed 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). The tanks purchased by Poland are equipped with a South Korean Doosan Infracore DV27K diesel engine with a capacity of 1500 hp and a German Renk HSWL 295 TM transmission. 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) 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 to train personnel before deploying the battalion to 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 delivered to Poland, 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 in October, both the Polish and South Korean sides officially designated the first 24 self-propelled guns 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 zloty) 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 systems and interface 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 K9A1 self-propelled guns received by Poland (a divisional set) 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 welcoming ceremony in Gdynia of the first ten K2 Black Panther tanks and the first 24 K9PL (K9A1) Thunder self-propelled howitzers delivered to Poland from South Korea from among those ordered by the Polish side under contracts dated August 2022, 06.12.2022 (c) the Ministry of National Defense of Poland and Jarosław Ciślak / Defence24.plVideo:
