Poland sent 350 tanks to Ukraine. These Korean models will replace them.

Hyundai Rotem's K2 tanks, bound for Poland, are positioned at the company's Changwon plant in Changwon, South Gyeongsang. [HYUNDAI ROTEM]

 
CHANGWON, South Gyeongsang — A day before the K2 Black Panther tanks proudly marched the streets of Warsaw for Poland’s Armed Forces Day on Friday, two tanks — bound for the Eastern European nation — roared through a testing ground at 60 kilometers (37 miles) per hour at the Changwon headquarters of Hyundai Rotem. 
 
Coming to a stop, one tank lowered itself by about a foot to effectively “sit,” “kneel” and even lean to one side, almost like a low-rider. The other used its caterpillar to rotate 360 degrees while the barrel stayed still, aimed at reporters. 
 

The K2 tank shows its "sit" and "kneel" features at a 500 percent speed.[HYUNDAI ROTEM]

The K2 tank rotates at 200 percent speed [HYUNDAI ROTEM]

 
This was a demonstration of Hyundai Rotem’s 3.5-generation main battle tank. The two machines showcased to the reporters were units bound for Poland. Hyundai Rotem's combined $9.8 billion contract with Warsaw, one of Korea's largest ever defense exports, will replace Soviet-era tanks that were sent to Ukraine in 2022. 
 
While Hyundai Rotem didn’t allow the reporters to take the K2 for a spin, it did provide a sneak peek — with strictly no photographs — of the manufacturing site where workers were tirelessly readying the K2 tanks for export.
 
The K2 Black Panther tank is a 3.5-generation battle tank, developed by the Agency for Defense Development and Hyundai Rotem, that has been under construction at the latter's factory in Changwon, South Gyeongsang, since 2014. The Korean Army deployed 260 K2 models through three production cycles, successfully replacing the aging K1, with 150 or so more tanks coming to the Army by 2028.
 
But the K2 tank remained within the Korean Army for close to a decade; the closest it came to being exported was when Turkey acquired the relevant technology and resources to develop its own Altay tank, based on the K2, in 2008.
 
Things changed in 2022 with Russia's war against Ukraine. Warsaw, whose relationship with Moscow has been hostile since the Polish-Soviet War that ended in 1921, sent 350 of its Soviet-era T-72, PT-91 and German-made Leopard 2A4 to aid Ukraine on the front lines. The K2, paired with U.S. M1, will replace the units that were sent off, serving as a deterrent to, and potential defense against, any continued Russian aggression at home.
 

K2 main battle tanks march through the streets of Warsaw during the Polish Armed Forces Day military parade on Aug 15 [REUTERS/YONHAP]

 
The K2 is lighter and more affordable to maintain than the U.S.-built M1A2 Abrams and much faster to produce than the German Leopard 2. It also requires small- and medium-sized enterprises due to its unique autoload function. The advanced suspension system independently controls each road wheel in its caterpillar, so the tank can effectively hide and adjust its guns. 
 
“The K2 is similar in terms of raw performance of its main gun and the powerpack when compared to the Leopard 2 and Abrams, but it is lighter, making it more mobile on the battlefield,” Hyundai Rotem’s Choi Woo-seok, who was responsible for the Poland export deal, said during the media tour.
 
Hyundai Rotem’s top-secret production site, however, felt less like a car plant filled with robots and more like a coach-building factory, with no visible conveyor belts to move things around. While the tank parts move through the factory once the manufacturing process is completed, they were instead transported using a lift to the next site, where experienced workers spent time and effort finishing their job.
 
During the tour, the workers were busy producing the K2 tanks, specifically the K2 Gap-Filler (GF). The K2GF is largely based on the K2 models used by the Korean Army, with radio, communication and satellite systems tailored to Poland's military. 
 
After signing a $3.3 billion deal to produce 180 K2GF tanks for the Polish army in August 2022, Hyundai Rotem wasted no time: It sent 10 tanks by the end of that year, followed by 18 more in 2023 and 56 in 2024. The company is now producing the final 96 tanks, which it's set to finish this year.
 
“The Polish forces were very satisfied with how we were able to deliver all the K2GF tanks on time,” Choi said. “The tanks also outperformed other great tanks like Germany’s Leopard, France’s Leclerc and the U.S. Abrams during the NATO exercise in Poland in March of last year.”
 

Hyundai Rotem's K2 tanks, bound for Poland, are positioned at the company's Changwon plant in Changwon, South Gyeongsang. [HYUNDAI ROTEM]

 
Poland signed a $6.5 billion additional contract earlier this month to purchase 116 additional K2GF tanks, 64 K2PL tanks and 81 offspring vehicles based on the K2, which includes armored recovery vehicles, combat engineering vehicle and the armored vehicle-launched bridge.
 
The K2PL — with PL standing for Poland — is an upgraded version of the existing K2. It is likely to feature a hard-kill active protection system, which uses explosives to neutralize anti-tank projectiles, alongside a 12.7-milimiter remote controlled weapon system and drone jammer, as well as improved air conditioning and a roomier interior, all tailored to Poland's environmental standards. The K2PL is also expected to be built in Poland.
 
Poland so far received over 80 of the K2GF tanks, but it seems to be that the country wants 10 times that number, as shown by the Polish president Karol Nawrocki's speech during the nation's military parade held last Friday. 
 
“It is very good that South Korean-made K2 tanks have arrived in Poland. However, we cannot stop here,” Polish President Karol Nawrocki said. “We must have a thousand K2 tanks, which we need today.” 
 

Hyundai Rotem's K2 tanks, bound for Poland, are positioned at the company's Changwon plant in Changwon, South Gyeongsang. [HYUNDAI ROTEM]

BY CHO YONG-JUN [cho.yongjun1@joongang.co.kr]