Contract for 1000 units in Poland… 180 units imported, 820 units domestically produced
Turkiye main battle tank Derivative model Altaydo K2
After several times, Germany decided to support its main battle tank, the Leopard 2, to Ukraine, but it is true that it showed disorganized movements in the process. Because of this, there were reports in the media that South Korea’s position in the European defense market was strengthening as the trust in Germany was shaken by neighboring countries.
The US diplomatic magazine Foreign Policy (FP) reported on the 30th (local time) that Germany has decided to provide tank support to Ukraine after long hesitation and excuses, but European countries, which use the Leopard 2 as a key weapon for their army, It cannot continue to rely on German tanks in the future It was said that there were doubts that it would.
The Leopard 2 is currently the main battle tank of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) army, and around 2,000 units are known to be in service in Europe at the moment. However, FP’s analysis is that trust is shaking as Germany loses out in the process of maintaining tanks in Ukraine.
FP said that while Germany’s trust was failing, South Korea was digging into the gap and rapidly encroaching on the European defense market.
FP also said that interest in Korea is increasing as it is certain that the plan of Germany and France to jointly develop a next generation model will collapse due to bureaucracy.
A typical example is Poland. Last year, Poland signed a contract to buy 1,000 K2 tanks and 672 K9 self-propelled howitzers with Korean defense companies Hyundai Rotem and Hanwha Defense Systems, respectively.
FP introduced that the K2 tank is a tank that Korea started developing in 1995 to get out of the US tank platform and started mass production in 2014. It has similar performance to the best European tanks and showed good performance in a comparative test with r Leopard 2, the media emphasized. In addition, regarding the advantages of weapons such as Korean tanks, he pointed to localization through technology transfer, excellent production capacity, and a strong will to nurture the defense industry.
In the case of 1,000 K2 tanks actually exported to Poland, the first 180 units will be produced in Korea, but 820 units will be made as a local model (K2PL) with production facilities in Poland by 2026.
For this reason, FP analyzed that Poland can secure tanks much faster than Germany’s Leopard 2, and moreover, it can meet Poland’s demand to foster the defense industry through technology transfer.
FP mentioned that not only Poland but also Turkiye Altay’s main battle tank is a K2 derivative model, and other countries such as Slovakia are discussing with Korea a plan to replace the old Soviet T-72 tank.
In particular, if Poland operates 1,000 K2 tanks, other countries are likely to consider buying K2 tanks in terms of interoperability, which is also an advantage for Korea, FP diagnoses.
However, he predicted that it is unlikely that all of Europe will immediately switch its tank buyer to Korea. FP cited South Korea’s refusal to provide lethal weapons to Ukraine as the reasons for its sensitivity to Russia and its distance from Europe.
