Hyundai Rotem is aiming to strike a $9 billion tank development deal with the Polish government to develop and build domestic variant of original K2 tank. If the deal actually happens, it would mark the first time for the company to export its integrated defense technology overseas.
Poland previously inked a deal with Hanwha Defense in 2016 to buy 120 K9 self-propelled howitzers, for which its performance was highly spoken of in the local region.
There are other contenders like the U.S. M1 Abrams, Russia’s T-90 and England’s Challenger 2 that could be secured but Poland’s fundamental principle is to develop homegrown weaponry which suggests Hyundai Rotem is a strong contender in the race.
“The official project bidding is expected to be announced in the first half of this year and we definitely will take part in the process. The total project is said to be divided into two stages to produce a total of 800 tanks,” a Hyundai Rotem official said.
In 2008, the South Korean company won a bid to sell K2 tanks to the Turkish government beating Germany, one of the world’s leading tank manufacturers. The Turkish Altay main battle tank is developed by South Korean Hyundai Rotem but build in Turkey.
The K2s tank is a fourth generation tank capable of firing 120mm rounds while cruising at up to 70 kilometers an hour.
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