Poland Now With A Battalion of K2 ‘Black Panther’
The Polish Armed Forces are now able to field a tank battalion equipped with the new K2 ‘Black Panther’ Main Battle Tank. This month saw further deliveries of the new tanks and has enabled the 16th Mechanized Division to begin integration of the tank unit in its structures.
Poland has now 48 K2 MBTs in service, with the latest 18 being delivered on the 11th, 17th, and 19th March. All of the K2s will be delivered to the 20th Mechanized Brigade stationing in the Warmia region of North-Eastern Poland. The deliveries concluded this month are a part of the contract awarded to South Korea for the delivery of 180 MBTs that will be concluded by 2026.
As the Polish Armed Forces modernization continues its armored elements are in need of heavy equipment including modern MBTs. The K2s purchased by Poland were the result of an interventional purchase made by the Polish Ministry of Defense in the Summer of 2022 along with the purchase of 212 K9 Self-Propelled Howitzers. The procurement was closely tied to the developing conflict in Ukraine, and the aim to rapidly enhance the Polish army’s operational capabilities. Up to the outbreak of the conflict in a neighboring state, the majority of the Polish MBT fleet comprised modernized and refurbished T-72M1 and M1Rs supported by PT-91s and Leopards 2.
The K2 “Gap-Fillers” will successfully replace the T-72MRs donated to Ukraine by Poland. In the last 2 years over 250 Polish tanks were donated to Kyiv and steadily replaced with freshly delivered K2s and M1A1FEP Abrams tanks with deliveries of M1A2 SEPv3 planned to commence in 2024. However, the K2 procurement probably will not stop here. Poland aims to obtain over 800 MBTs under the “Wilk” program which means that a contract for domestic production of the K2 tank is considered by the government in Warsaw despite the recent change of government and the Polish Ministry of Defense’s new stance towards purchases from South Korea.