"Further 7 K2 Black Panther tanks from South Korea have arrived today by sea in the port of Gdynia," Poland's Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Mariusz Błaszczak informed on social media on Friday (May 19). He added the tanks would be delivered to the 20th Mechanized Brigade.
The executive contract signed by Poland and South Korea assumes purchase of 180 K2 Black Panther tanks for 5.8 million dollars. The framework agreement assumes purchase of a total of 1,000 tanks - of which 820 are to be manufactured under license in Poland.
This is the third delivery of the K2 Black Panther tanks for the Polish Armed Forces. The first batch of ten K2 tanks arrived in December 2022, and the second one - 5 tanks - in March this year. All equipment delivered so far has been transferred to the 20th Mechanized Brigade.
"Further 7 K2 Black Panther tanks from South Korea have arrived today by sea in the port of Gdynia. The tanks will now be transferred to the 20th Mechanized Brigade," Poland's Minister of National Defence Mariusz Błaszczak said on Twitter.
The K2 Black Panther tank, which was supplied to the 20th Mechanized Brigade, is a South Korean 3+ generation MBT (main battle tank). Its main armament is a 120 mm smoothbore gun with an autoloader that can use the latest types of ammunition. Auxiliary armament is a 7.62 mm machine gun and a 12.7 mm heavy machine gun. The tank's advanced fire control system ensures high efficiency of fire at long distances.
The armor of the K2 tank is in the standard configuration, which can be additionally supplemented with active protection systems such as soft kill (VIRSS) and hard kill (KAPS), and ensures high ballistic and anti-mine resistance. The motor is a diesel engine with a power of 1500 hp with an automatic gearbox, which ensures high speed and mobility in any possible terrain. The tank is characterized by a relatively low weight of 55 tons and the use of hydropneumatic suspension.
Źródło: TVN24 News in English, PAP, gov.pl
Źródło zdjęcia głównego: wojsko-polskie.pl