Poland buys K2 Black Panther MBT light fighter jets, K9 Thunder SPH and FA-50 Fighting Eagle from South Korea

AIRSPACE REVIEW (airspace-review.com) – Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak announced (22/7) that his country is currently in negotiations with South Korea for the purchase of 180 K2 Black Panther, 120 K9 Thunder SPH and 48 FA-50 jets. Fight Eagle.

According to his statement, the first unit of K2 Black Panther will be shipped this year directly from South Korea. Most of these tanks will be produced in Poland under license.

The main battle tank made by Hyundai Rotem is manned by a crew of three consisting of commander, driver, weapons operator.

This 55 tonne combat vehicle is equipped with a 1,500 hp Hyundai Doosan Infracore DV27K 4 diesel engine. It has a maximum speed of 70 km/h and an operating range of 450 km.

As the main weapon is the canon Hyundai WIA CN08 120 mm caliber, available 40 rounds of ammunition. Secondary armament is one 12.7 mm SMB and one 7.62 mm SMS.

Apart from Poland, other countries that are interested and have evaluated the K2 Black Panther are Norway and Egypt which intend to make it under license.

Furthermore, Poland will also bring in 120 chassis of the K9 Thunder SPH combat vehicle. A total of 24 pieces direct from South Korea and the remaining 96 will be produced in Poland under license as part of the AHS Krab (Crab) programme.

The AHS Krab will be produced by Centrum Produkcji Wojskowej Huta Stalowa Wola, combining the South Korean K9 Thunder chassis with the UK's AS-90M Braveheart turret.

The K9 Thunder field artillery system was originally designed by the South Korean Defense Development Agency and Samsung Techwin while the manufacturing process is now being carried out by Hanwha Defense.

This 47 tonne combat vehicle is powered by a 1,000 hp STX-MTU MT881Ka-500 diesel engine. It has a maximum speed of 67 km/h and an operational range of 360 km.

To operate the K9 Thunder requires a crew of five namely commander, driver, gunner, and two soldiers who load ammunition.

It is armed with the main weapon in the form of a 155 mm howitzer made by the Hyundai WIA CN98 which carries 48 munitions and a secondary 12.7 mm SMB weapon.

Besides Poland, purchases of K9 Thunder from Korea are Turkey, India, Australia, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, and Norway.

In addition to the K2 Black Panther and K9 Thunder SPH MBTs, Poland purchased KAI's FA-50 Fighting Eagle light fighter jets, 48 ​​of which were acquired to replace the Soviet-era MiG-29 Fulcrum.