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@NikkeiAsiaSouth Korea's Hyundai Rotem to sign K2 tank order worth $6.5bn with Poland
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South Korea Wins Record $6.5 Billion Polish K2 Tank Order
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Poland and South Korea have completed negotiations for a second batch of K2 Black Panther main battle tanks, a deal estimated at about $6.5 billion (roughly ₩8.8 trillion), South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration said. Polish Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz and manufacturer Hyundai Rotem plan to sign the contract at a later ceremony.
The order covers 180 tanks, repeating the quantity purchased in 2022 but on significantly expanded terms. Hyundai Rotem will build 117 vehicles in South Korea, while the remaining 63—designated K2PL—will be assembled locally by state-owned Polish Armaments Group after a transfer of technology. The agreement also calls for construction of a production facility in Poland.
DAPA described the accord as South Korea’s largest single arms-export contract to date and a cornerstone of Seoul’s ambition to become a top-tier defence supplier. For Warsaw, the procurement deepens a rapid rearmament drive launched after Russia’s 2022 invasion of neighbouring Ukraine and cements Poland’s status as the biggest foreign customer for Korean weaponry.
The latest purchase advances a 2022 framework that envisages up to 1,000 K2 tanks for Poland and dovetails with the European Union’s ReArm Europe initiative to boost defence manufacturing within NATO. Hyundai Rotem expects the local assembly line to strengthen its foothold in Europe and open the door to further regional orders.
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