K2 Black Panther Problems: Why 30 Polish Tanks Are in Repair

Around 30 of the K2 Black Panther main battle tanks delivered to the Polish Army have been standing in military workshops with faults, some of them engine related, with most of the affected vehicles concentrated at Braniewo where the 9th Armoured Cavalry Brigade faces Russia’s Kaliningrad exclave. The figure was reported by investigative journalist Mariusz Gierszewski of Polish broadcaster Radio ZET, whose findings were carried by the defence outlet Defence24 on October 21. Gierszewski also reported that the repairs could be carried out only by South Korean specialists, while neither the Ministry of National Defence nor the Armament Agency has confirmed or disputed his number. With Poland having received more than 200 K2s since 2022, the reported figure would leave roughly one in seven of the fleet in the workshops, highlighting how the delivery speed that won the Korean tank its Polish orders has left the support network trailing behind.

The Armament Agency’s spokesman, Colonel Grzegorz Polak, told Defence24 that the K2GF’s fault rate was no different from that of any other equipment entering service, and that defects were being fixed with the contractor under warranty. He added that their frequency did not significantly affect the ability of units fielding the tank to carry out their tasks. Speaking to the Polish news site Zero.pl the following day, he was blunter, stating: “These are not critical faults. The contract is being carried out.” The Ministry of National Defence followed with a statement reported by the business portal WNP on October 24, which held that the K2’s failure rate did not exceed the standards for vehicles of its type. The ministry described temporary withdrawal from service as normal for every platform, and stated that the Korean manufacturer was performing the repairs, with Polish units to take over routine work once warranties expire.

The Braniewo brigade is the first unit to receive tanks under Poland’s second executive contract with Hyundai Rotem, signed on August 1, 2025 and worth about $6.5 billion. That deal covers 116 more K2GF tanks and 64 of the upgraded K2PL variant, the latter due between 2028 and 2030 with 61 of them to be assembled by Bumar-Łabędy in Gliwice. The first contract, worth about $3.4 billion for 180 Korean-built tanks, was completed in 2025, and the brigade is expected to field two K2 battalions of 58 tanks each by the end of 2026. Concerns over the type’s reliability in Polish service are far from new, with military analyst Jarosław Wolski having described the list of K2GF problems earlier this year as very serious. He cited overheating engines, cases of complete engine seizure and faults in the in-arm suspension units.

The K2 is a 55 tonne design with a three man crew and a 120 millimetre smoothbore gun fed by an autoloader holding 16 of its 40 rounds, powered by a 1,500 horsepower DV27K diesel engine from HD Hyundai Infracore. State-owned Wojskowe Zakłady Motoryzacyjne in Poznań agreed with Hyundai Rotem only in September to receive the technology for Level 4 maintenance of the DV27K, the deepest tier of repair. Its sister company Bumar-Łabędy holds a separate service agreement for the K2GF tanks already in Polish hands. Until the Poznań capability is in place, the most complex engine work on Poland’s growing K2 fleet remains dependent on the manufacturer and its Korean specialists.