The K2 Black Panther Is a Powerhouse We Saw With Our Own Eyes
Kielce, Poland – One of the largest foreign exhibition stands at Poland’s Międzynarodowy Salon Przemysłu Obronnego (International Defence Industry Exhibition or MSPO), this year is from the Republic of Korea (ROK) firm of Hyundai Rotem, Inc.
New K3 Tank National Security Journal Photo from Poland. Taken on 9/2/2025.
The Asia economic powerhouse company is well-known for its consumer automobile products, but it is also the largest manufacturer of armored vehicles in the country.
This allowed National Security Journal to get up close to the K2 Black Panther, one of the most powerful tanks on the planet.
A Big Tank Deal Signed Between Poland and South Korea
In early July of this year, it was reported that Hyundai Rotem had signed a US$6.5 billion deal to sell its K2 tank and associated support vehicles to the Polish military.
The announcement was made by the ROK Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), stating that the company had concluded negotiations with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defense Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz on the details of the deal to provide the latest version of its K2 tanks to NATO and EU member state Poland.
Under the terms of this contract, the company will export 180 units of K2 tanks, valued at $6.5 billion, to the Central European country. This contract will be the ROK’s largest defense export contract since a $3.5 billion contract signed in 2022 to supply surface-to-air missile (SAM) systems to the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
This contract is actually the second major export sale of the K2 tank to Poland. The ROK defense firm had previously delivered 180 units of the K2 to Warsaw in a $3 billion contract signed in 2022.
This latest contract is for the same quantity of tanks, but is more than double the value because these will be all new-build models. The 2022 contract was for a mix of original model and upgraded versions of the K-2.
Heavier Does Not Automatically Mean Stronger
Representatives of Hyundai Rotem, who spoke with National Security Journal at the MSPO exhibition, explained that the K2 is the most modern and effective tank on the market for several very concrete reasons.
“The K2 is lighter than its analogues built by the US and European nations at only 56 tons,” said one of the senior design staff. “But it is lighter not because we have reduced the armor or other protective measures that would make it less survivable. It is lighter because it is a state-of-the-art design. Employing the most modern of any tank combat systems and being lighter in weight gives the K2 significant more mobility.”
K2 Black Panther Tank from South Korea. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
K2 Black Panther. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
Two of the significant innovations in the K2 Black Panther, according to the Hyundai Rotem representatives, are, first, this tank “is completely digitized and is fitted with one of most modern fire control systems in the world. The gun is a 120mm smoothbore, which gives it a flat trajectory, so the K2 wields exceptional firepower as well as very high accuracy.”
Secondly, he continued, the design includes “an advanced hydropneumatics ‘in-arm’ suspension. This provides for individual control of each bogie, enabling posture control of the position of the tank’s chasis.”
This provides the tank’s operator with the ability to have the tank “sit” or “stand,” or “kneel” to enhance stability, as well as maneuverability over difficult terrain.
This always creates more leeway in the elevation or depression of the main gun, explained the Hyundai personnel at MSPO.
This innovative design was developed exclusively by Hyundai Rotem, and allows the tank to lean and achieve better firing angles, increasing its combat effectiveness.
Less Crew, More Survivability for K2 Tank
The K2’s combat system utilizes an auto-loader for the main gun, so only a three-member crew is required.
The tank’s rounds are also stored separately and kept out of the crew compartment, just as was done with the US M1 Abrams design.
Additionally, enhancing survivability is an active protection system (APS) designed for use against anti-tank guided missiles.
The K2 is also equipped with a sophisticated suite of sensors that alert the crew if it is being painted by laser or other target acquisition systems.
The K3 Tank Is Coming
These technologies and design concepts are all being dialed into the development of a next-generation tank beyond the K2 that has a provisional designator of K3 and was on the Hyundai Rotem stand as a subscale model, which we were able to see up close as well.
The way the company representatives describe it, this tank will also have a three-man crew.
Still, they will not be sitting at separate stations; that is, the driver will be in the driver’s seat, the gunner will be manning and firing the gun, and a third crew member will be handling the other on-board systems.
K3 Stealth Tank from South Korea. Image Credit: Industry Handout.
Instead, all three crew will sit next to one another in a row, manning consoles – almost NASA mission control style. The turret and all other systems will be remotely controlled from these consoles.
Like the K2 before it, this design is going to be a significant leap in both the use of technology and the configuration concept.
The tank is not only intended to be stealthy, as can be seen from the model, but Hyundai Rotem also consulted with the automobile division of the company to develop an aerodynamically friendly shape for the upcoming K3 tank as well.
The company is truly showing in practice just how innovative they can be.
About the Author: Reuben F. Johnson
Reuben F. Johnson has thirty-six years of experience analyzing and reporting on foreign weapons systems, defense technologies, and international arms export policy. Johnson is the Director of Research at the Casimir Pulaski Foundation. He is also a survivor of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. He worked for years in the American defense industry as a foreign technology analyst and later as a consultant for the U.S. Department of Defense, the Departments of the Navy and Air Force, and the governments of the United Kingdom and Australia. In 2022-2023, he won two awards in a row for his defense reporting. He holds a bachelor’s degree from DePauw University and a master’s degree from Miami University in Ohio, specializing in Soviet and Russian studies. He lives in Warsaw.
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