According to information published by the Polish newspaper website “The wPolityce”, Poland is in discussion with Germany and South Korea to replace its T-72 Main Battle Tanks (MBTs) donated to Ukraine with German Leopard 2 and South Korean K2 Black Panther tanks.
Citing information from “The wPolityce”, following the donation of its T-72 Main Battle Tanks (MBTs) to Ukraine coming from its military inventory, Poland needs to replace these tanks to avoid reducing its defense capabilities, especially in the face of the situation in Ukraine.
Poland has started negotiations with Germany to acquire second-hand Leopard 2 MBTs. At the same time, Poland is in talks with South Korea about the purchase of K2PL, a Polish version of the K2 Black Panther MBT designed and manufactured by the South Korean company Hyundai Rotem.
The K2PL is a version of the K2 Black Panther that was designed according to Polish army requirements and needs. A scale model of the K2PL was presented in September 2020 at MSPO, an international defense exhibition that was in the city of Kielce, Poland.
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 gun is fitted with an automatic loader with 16 rounds ready to fire. 24 additional rounds are stored inside the hull. The second armament includes a 7.62 mm coaxial machine gun mounted on the left side of the main armament. A 12.7 mm K-6 heavy machine gun is mounted on the top right of the turret.
According to our first analysis of the scale model presented at MSPO 2020, the design of the K2PL includes a new armor package mounted around the turret as well as on the sides of the hull. The roof of the turret is fitted with a remotely operated weapon station armed with a 12.7mm machine gun. The main armament seems to be the same.