Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa (PGZ) confirmed that it has signed a final agreement with South Korea’s Hyundai Rotem as part of efforts to localize K2PL production in Poland. The document finalizes earlier arrangements and sets out a concrete industrial roadmap.
The agreement covers not only assembly but also maintenance and the adaptation of K2 tanks into the K2PL variant, which features design changes tailored to the requirements of the Polish Armed Forces. Production will take place at the Bumar-Łabędy plant in Gliwice, according to TVP World.
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The first K2PL tanks are expected to roll off the production line in 2028 under a contract signed last year for the delivery of 180 K2 tanks. Of these, 64 will be produced in Poland in the K2PL configuration, while the remaining 116 will be manufactured in South Korea in the interim K2GF version. In total, Poland may eventually order around 1,000 tanks.
The Bumar-Łabędy plant previously produced tanks in the 1990s and 2000s, including the PT-91 Twardy, with the last unit completed in 2009. Since then, Poland has not conducted serial tank production.
Thus, in 2028, for the first time in 19 years since the end of PT-91 production, a new domestically produced tank, the K2PL, is expected to leave Polish assembly lines. However, despite plans for up to 1,000 units, only about half are likely to be produced in Poland, with the rest built in South Korea.
Discussions on localizing K2PL production have been ongoing for years. In 2024, disputes even emerged over which facilities would be involved, with reports suggesting that PGZ excluded plants such as Wojskowe Zakłady Mechaniczne SA and H. Cegielski SA from the project.
Currently, Poland operates 180 K2 tanks in the interim K2GF configuration, delivered from South Korea between 2023 and 2025.
It is also worth noting that although the K2PL will be equipped with the South Korean KAPS-2 active protection system, Poland plans to develop its own APS tailored to counter FPV drones and anti-tank guided missiles. This is not the country’s first attempt to create such a system.
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