Polish Tank Modernization Program

donnage99 said:
old for most but new to me.
It has the same German-designed 120-millimeter main gun as the Abrams, but with a longer barrel to boost projectile velocity. An automatic loader replaces a human loader, reducing the crew to three. It reportedly can feed the gun one round every three seconds. The K-2 has a radar autotracker, allowing the main gun to lock onto and follow a moving enemy tank or low-flying aircraft.

Another standout capability of the K-2 lies in the Korean Standoff Top Attack Munition (KSTAM) munition. KSTAM is fired from the main gun at long range and, like artillery, can attack targets beyond the line of sight. After it's shot into a target area, KSTAM deploys a parachute and turns on its sensor package, including a millimetric wave radar and infra-red sensor. Once it detects a target, it fires an explosively forged penetrator into the enemy's thin top armor. A weapon system like KSTAM is particularly useful in South Korea's mountainous terrain.
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www.popularmechanics.com

Watch South Korea's Homemade Tank Strut Its Stuff

At $8.5 million, the K-2 Black Panther is one of the most expensive tanks ever built.
www.popularmechanics.com www.popularmechanics.com
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Interesting bit of info about that autoloader (also, 1 Rd/3 sec seems a bit optimistic)

https://twitter.com/x/status/1551850911739289600
View: https://twitter.com/RyszardJonski/status/1551850911739289600?t=iA8fU0W6NYsmWv573A1c2Q&s=19
 
Yeah, the fastest autoloader I know is that of Type 10 with 1rd/4s loading speed. The twitt's got a thing wrong tho about the "data obtained from Youtube videos" part. XK2 prototype was came out in 2005, remember. What they had as a reference was a foto of Leclerc autoloader, not a video.
 
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Maro.Kyo said:
The twitt's got a thing wrong tho about the "data obtained from Youtube videos" part. XK2 prototype was came out in 2005, remember. What they had as a reference was a foto of Leclerc autoloader, not a video.
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While YouTube didn't exist until 2005, there were definitely videos of Leclerc online and on television before that. So, it's likely that he got the name of the video platform wrong, but the gist of the comment could still be correct. In any event, the interesting part is that the K2 autoloader is based to some degree on what the Korean designers could learn from published materials about the Leclerc autoloader.

Similarities between the Leclerc and K2 loaders have been noted before, apparently.

Army Guide

Army Guide - information about the main battle tanks, armoured vehicles and armament of the land forces and also the information concerning other army subjects - K2 Black Panther, Main battle tank, Armoured Vehicles
www.army-guide.com
 
Some interesting details I received re the reasoning behind the split selection of tank types. Apparently the Poles actually wanted an all M1A2 fleet, in line with what I advised earlier. The problem though was that the US couldn't supply the necessary numbers (750 - 1000) in the desired time. As such they have gone the path of sourcing the K2 as a compliment to get to the number - i.e. have two tank types come in in parallel so as to get to the target number quicker.
 
With about half of the M1s being "used US Army examples", I get the impression that they are a short term solution to replace the T72s Poland is giving to Ukraine... and the K2 is the long-term solution.
 
k2 is both short term and long term. poles eventually will get to produce a heavily polish modified version of the tank, which helps their industry alot. idk if M1 was ever offered with that amount of industrial and economic incentives.
 
The 'used' M1A1s are the ex-USMC ones and are initially being used for training. I suspect they will be later updated to M1A2 SEPv3 status. Moving forward it appears as though they will have a dual M1A2/K2 force.
 
Is the Lima tank factory still producing M1 Abrams tanks?
Is it only over-hauling previously produced M1s?
Is it only upgrading previously produced M1s?
 
stealing this from Tanknet
but supposedly this is the model for the Polish version of the K2
1.thumb.jpg.9ec107055e7d5d05d87efbcb6b23a905.jpg


and a regular K2 for comparison
b7547e0bc6172b1e5f7d6f81049b9f82.jpg
 
^ yup looks almost the same

one thing i noticed is that the PL version doesnt seem to have blast panels on the turret bustle?
 
I'm wondering about the extra roadwheel. Is the whole tank going to be longer, and if so, what are they doing with the extra space?

Enough fuel to get to Moscow in one go?
 
First Polish K2 is already in factory trials
View: https://twitter.com/HyunminPppp/status/1573697452645183491

v.daum.net

[진격의 K-방산] 시속 70km 질주, 360도 회전..폴란드로 떠날 'K2' 위풍당당

━ SPECIAL REPORT “전차들이 테스트를 무사히 통과하길 바랄 뿐입니다. 이 단계만 지나면 사실상 폴란드행 배에 선적할 일만 남았거든요.” 지난 16일 경남 창원시 현대로템 생산공장. K2 흑표 전차 주행 테스트를 지켜보는 김미정 책임매니저의 표정엔 긴장감이 가득했다. K2 전차들이 성능 시험장에 차례차례 들어설 때도 두 손을 모
v.daum.net v.daum.net

First Polish K2 is already in factory trials
 
https://www.reddit.com/r/TankPorn/comments/zfvmyb
View: https://www.reddit.com/r/TankPorn/comments/zfvmyb/what_the_k2pl_will_look_like_images_of_k2_black/

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Obi-wan-Pierogi_
OP·8 hr. ago·edited 8 hr. ago

From the Korean Defence Blog:
Pictured is a K2 Black Panther PV3 (Prototype Vehicle 3) being used as a testbed for export configuration. This K2 is likely the closest representation of how the Polish K2PL variant will look like.
First 180 K2 Black Panther tanks in ROK configuration being sent to Poland are known as "K2GF" (Gap Filler). According to various sources, these K2GF tanks will later be upgraded to K2PL standard.
This hints that early concept for the larger 7 road wheel variant for K2PL was scrapped by both countries, likely to save time and cost, and additionally to make such upgrade possible.
Development of the 7 road wheel variant would have resulted in a whole new tank, which would've made such upgrade impossible.
Additionally, Poland will operate a sizable fleet of M1A2 Abrams, which would serve as substitue for Polish requirement for "heavier" main battle tanks.
https://www.facebook.com/ROKArmedForces/
Seems like the 7 wheeler was just too big a variation for now for now given tight timelines, probably makes more sense to at that point focus on the K3. In any case, I quite like the look of the K2PL for a purely visual sense.
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Official approval for M1A1's and A LOT of ammunition!

Sixty thousand (60,000) 120mm M829A4 Armor Piercing, Fin Stabilized, Discarding Sabot-Tracer (APFSDS-T) cartridges; two thousand (2,000) 120mm M829A3 Armor Piercing, Fin Stabilized, Discarding Sabot-Tracer (APFSDS-T) cartridges; fifty thousand (50,000) 120mm M829A2 Armor Piercing, Fin Stabilized, Discarding Sabot-Tracer (APFSDS-T Cartridges; ten thousand (10,000) 120mm M830A1 High Explosive Anti-Tank (HEAT) TP-T cartridges; sixty thousand (60,000) 120mm M908 High Explosive Obstacle Reduction-Tracer (HE-OR-T cartridges; and seventy thousand (70,000) 120mm M1147 High Explosive Advanced Multipurpose Round cartridges.
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