Summary and Key Points: South Korea’s K2 Black Panther tank, featuring advanced technology like a hydropneumatic suspension, automatic loading system, and NATO-compatible ammunition, has captured Poland’s attention.
-Poland’s significant purchase of up to 1,000 K2 tanks highlights Warsaw’s strategic shift to modernize its military, replacing Soviet-era tanks and significantly boosting NATO interoperability.
-This ambitious military deal also involves local production and technology transfer, enhancing Poland’s defense industry. Concurrently, North Korea’s arms exports to Russia illustrate a Korean arms rivalry.
-Both Koreas leverage the war in Ukraine to strengthen international partnerships, showcasing their evolving roles in global military markets and geopolitical dynamics.
Here Comes the K2 Black Panther Tank from South Korea
The K2 Black Panther is South Korea’s primary main battle tank. It is distinct from the earlier K1 design, which is a derivative of the American M1 Abrams main battle tank. Poland is going all-in on the K2 in a massive deal with South Korea.
“The deal, signed 22 July, will see up to 1,000 Hyundai Rotem K2 Black Panther main battle tanks, 672 Hanwha Defense K9 Thunder 155 mm self-propelled artillery and 48 Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) FA-50 Fighting Eagle light fighter ground-attack aircraft acquired in stages that include technology transfer and local production,” the International Institute for Strategic Studies think tank explained.
“Initial batches of 180 K2s, 48 K9s and 12 FA-50s will be standard production versions and deliveries should begin this year,” IISS wrote. “Polish versions will then be developed with production of the K2PL, K9PL and FA-50PL beginning in 2026, 2024 and 2025 respectively. Whilst all FA-50PLs will be built in South Korea, Polish production of the K2PL and K9PL will begin in 2026. Joint development of follow-on tank and howitzer systems is also planned.”
The Design of K2 Black Panther Tank
One of the K2’s more notable features is its hydropneumatic suspension, which allows for independent control of each of the tank’s 12 road wheels. This affords the tank excellent off-road mobility and the ability to essentially raise or lower either end or side of the tank into a kneeling or a heads-up position.
Unlike the M1 Abrams (which Poland also operates), the K2 uses an automatic loader, allowing for a high rate of fire and eliminating the need for a fourth crew member tasked with manual loading. Crucially, the K2’s 120 mm main gun is compatible with NATO-standard 120 mm ammunition, allowing the K2 easy integration and interoperability with NATO countries’ supply chains, and giving the tank broader appeal, particularly with NATO member-states.
One of the K2’s more exotic munitions is the KSTAM-II (Korean smart top-attack munition), essentially a fire-and-forget munition designed to strike tanks from above, which is generally where a tank’s armor is thinnest. It is roughly akin to the German SMArt 155 guided artillery round.
It’s a Deal
The K2 tank deal predates the war in Ukraine. Hyundai Rotem, the South Korean firm behind the tank design, looked to strike an agreement with the Polish government as early as 2020. In the summer of 2022, Mariusz Blaszczak, a Polish lawmaker, took to Twitter to announce that a deal had been penned with Hyundai Rotem and the Polish government for “the joint development of tanks and armored personnel carriers.” Blaszczak called the agreement “an important step for the development of the army and industry.”
Poland had already signed a deal with South Korea for 120 of the country’s K-9 self-propelled howitzers.
A Numbers Game
The Polish Army has received around 110 K2 Black Panther main battle tanks from South Korea out of total 180-unit order. The move is part of Poland’s effort to modernize its military away from legacy Soviet-era equipment, swell its total numbers, and achieve a jump in both quantity and quality. The K2 order would see the gradual phase-out of Poland’s Soviet-era PT-91 tanks, which are essentially modified T-72 tanks.
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Poland has pumped a significant amount of money into its armed forces and currently spends almost 5 percent of its GDP on defense.
The Koreas at War
Both North and South Korea have seized the opportunity created by the ongoing war in Ukraine to boost their international arms exports. While South Korea has made the aforementioned deals with the Polish government, North Korea has struck deals with Russia for artillery and rocket ammunition—as well as for soldiers.
Thanks to North Korea’s perpetually war-focused economy, Pyongyang successfully exported 1 million artillery shells to Russia to help Moscow prosecute its war against Ukraine — astonishingly reaching the 1 million shell mark before various European countries combined were able to reach the same milestone in their effort to supply Ukraine.
At a recent press conference in Kyiv, Ukraine’s military spy chief, Kyrylo Budanov, said that North Korea is supplying approximately half of Russia’s ammunition. In addition to artillery ammo, Budanov noted, North Korea is also providing Russia with 170-mm self-propelled howitzers and 240-mm multiple rocket launch systems and has already supplied Russia with ballistic missiles. Ukraine’s foreign intelligence chief, Oleh Ivashchenko, said that Russia would like to produce more than 7 million artillery shells this year alone.
The latest developments indicate that Pyongyang has shipped 3,000 additional soldiers to Russia to aid Moscow’s push against Ukrainian forces.
They would join the 11,000 or so North Koreans previously sent to Russia. Officials in South Korea estimate that about 4,000 North Korean soldiers have been killed or wounded in combat.
Russian state media said that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is preparing to visit Moscow, a sign of the deepening partnership between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his North Korean counterpart.
K2 Black Panther: A Story in Photos
K2 Black Panther. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
K2 Black Panther. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
K2 Black Panther. Image: Creative Commons.
About the Author:
Caleb Larson Caleb Larson is an American multiformat journalist based in Berlin, Germany. His work covers the intersection of conflict and society, focusing on American foreign policy and European security. He has reported from Germany, Russia, and the United States. Most recently, he covered the war in Ukraine, reporting extensively on the war’s shifting battle lines from Donbas and writing on the war’s civilian and humanitarian toll. Previously, he worked as a Defense Reporter for POLITICO Europe. You can follow his latest work on X.
