[Yang Nak-gyu's Defence Club] First Live Fire of K2 and K9 in Poland Deployment

First Live-Fire Exercise of Domestic Tanks and Self-Propelled Guns Deployed Overseas
Hyundai Rotem Expedites Early Delivery of Domestic Tank K2 to Poland

Domestic weapons exported to Poland, the 'K-2 tank' and 'K-9 self-propelled howitzer,' will conduct live-fire exercises locally this week. This is the first time domestically produced tanks and self-propelled howitzers deployed overseas have conducted live-fire exercises.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

According to military officials on the 29th, on the 31st (local time), the K-2 tank and K-9 self-propelled howitzer will fire about 80 live rounds at the Orzysz training ground located in northeastern Poland.

The Orzysz training ground is a large-scale training site mainly used by NATO's Enhanced Forward Presence (eFP) forces stationed in Poland. On this day, four main gun targets and two machine gun targets will be set up for the live-fire exercises of the K-2 tank and K-9 self-propelled howitzer.

Hyundai Rotem sent five K-2 tanks to Gdynia, Poland, on the 22nd of this month, three months earlier than the originally scheduled delivery date. These are part of the urgent order of 180 units contracted with the Polish Armaments Agency in August last year and will be used in the live-fire training.

Poland's interest is high. High-ranking officials, including Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defence Mariusz Błaszczak, are expected to attend. On our side, officials from the Army Intelligence Operations Staff, Defense Acquisition Program Administration, and Defense Agency for Technology and Quality have arrived locally.

Poland plans to deploy the units to operational forces after the live-fire exercises. The Polish ground forces currently organize four armored and mechanized divisions. Among them, the 16th Mechanized Division, adjacent to Russia's Kaliningrad and Belarus, and the 18th Mechanized Division, near the eastern border area adjacent to Ukraine, will be equipped with K-2 tanks and K-9 self-propelled howitzers. The German-made main battle tanks previously held will be additionally sent to Ukraine.