Hyundai Rotem
South Korean rail and defence manufacturer, maker of the K2 tank.
Hyundai Rotem signed its second Polish K2 contract, for 180 tanks worth about $6.5bn, on 1 August 2025; 61 of the 64 K2PL tanks in it will be assembled at PGZ's Gliwice plant.
Last refreshed: 26 October 2026
Poland bought K2 tanks fast and local later; will its counter-drone plan follow?
Timeline for Hyundai Rotem
Mentioned in: Kongsberg to make SAN systems in Poland
Drones: Industry & DefenceBackground
Hyundai Rotem's K2 tank deal with Poland is the model Warsaw is repeating in counter-drone defence: buy early from abroad, then build at home. Kongsberg of Norway set out the same pattern on 13 October 2026: a plant in Pomerania, costing it more than 200m zlotys, that will make and service kit for SAN, Poland's counter-drone programme.
Hyundai Rotem is the South Korean rail and defence manufacturer that makes the K2 main battle tank, and an affiliate of Hyundai Motor Group. Poland signed a framework for up to 1,000 K2s in 2022, followed by a first contract for 180 tanks. A second contract for 180 more, worth about $6.5bn, was signed on 1 August 2025: 116 K2GF tanks built in Korea and 64 K2PL tanks, 61 of them assembled at PGZ's Bumar-Łabędy plant in Gliwice, with deliveries from 2026 to 2030.
The K2PL line is the test of Poland's buy-now, build-later approach, which SAN now follows.
Reference
What does Hyundai Rotem make?
Where will Poland build its K2PL tanks?
How many K2 tanks has Poland ordered from Hyundai Rotem?
Written with AI from Lowdown's published reporting. Not individually reviewed by an editor. Updated 26 October 2026. Editorial standards.