Second K2 Tank Export Contract to Poland Finalized... First Major Defense Export Under Lee Jaemyung Administration

Estimated at 8.8 Trillion Won
Largest Individual Defense Export Contract Ever
Defense Acquisition Program Administration: "A New Opportunity for Defense Exports"

The second export contract for the domestically produced K2 tank to Poland has been finalized.

The Defense Acquisition Program Administration announced on July 2 (local time) that Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz and Hyundai Rotem, the manufacturer of the K2, had completed negotiations for the second K2 tank contract in Poland.

The specific contract size was not disclosed at the request of the Polish side. However, industry sources estimate that the second contract involves 180 K2 tanks and is worth $6.5 billion (approximately 8.8 trillion won).

This marks the largest individual defense export contract in history and is the first major defense export deal under the Lee Jaemyung administration.

K2 Tank. Photo by Yonhap News.

Korea and Poland plan to hold a separate contract signing ceremony attended by high-level government officials from both countries.

Since signing a comprehensive framework agreement with Korean defense companies in 2022, Poland has entered into the first implementation contracts for four types of weapon systems: the K2 tank, K9 self-propelled howitzer, FA-50 light combat aircraft, and Cheonmu multiple rocket launcher. Subsequently, Poland signed the second implementation contract for the K9 in 2023 and for the Cheonmu in 2024.

The second implementation contract for the K2 tank was initially expected to be signed early, but negotiations were prolonged as the scope of the project expanded to include the development of the Polish version of the K2 tank (K2PL) and local production, which increased the contract size.

The Defense Acquisition Program Administration assessed that "the establishment of a local production base has increased the likelihood of follow-up contracts for the total 1,000 K2 tanks included in the framework agreement."

The administration also stated that this contract serves as a defense cooperation model that aligns with the 'European Re-Armament Plan' announced by the European Union (EU) in March, and expressed hope that "it will create new opportunities for defense exports not only for individual countries within Europe but also at the level of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)."

Seok Jonggun, Commissioner of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, said, "We will continue to do our utmost to ensure that the K2 tank can contribute to the security of not only Korea but also Europe."