PGZ and HRC: Second Take on the MBT Consortium

The consortium agreement concluded by and between PGZ S.A. and Hyundai Rotem Company will make it possible to launch further efforts tied to polonization, and pre-production stages for the K2PL main battle tanks. The agreement on the establishment of the consortium was signed by Krzysztof Trofiniak, President of the Management Board at the PGZ Group, and Yongbae Lee, President of the Management Board at Hyundai Rotem Company. The event also involved: Paweł Bejda, Secretary of State at the Ministry of Defence, Marcin Kulasek, Secretary of State at the Ministry of State Assets, and JE Hoonmin Lim, Republic of Korea Ambassador to Poland.

Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa S.A. [Polish Armament Group] assumes that 11-12 of its companies would take part in the project, WZM S.A. based in Poznan is included in that group. The consortium agreement assumes the main battle tank would undergo polonization, along with broad use of the Polish-made components. The consortium includes PGZ Group and Hyundai Rotem Company. The previous consortium agreement signed back in 2023, involving, apart from PGZ and Hyundai Rotem, also involved the Poznan-based WZM S.A. [Military Automotive Works]. That contract expired at the end of June.

As the agreement was signed, it was also announced that executive agreement no. 2 envisages procurement of 180 K2PL main battle tanks, and support vehicles, like command platforms, or ARVs, along with a relevant logistics support package. It was noted that the aforesaid contract is a conditional one. This means that the proper financing is yet to be approved by the Ministry of Finances and the BGK Bank before the Parties can proceed with the implementation of the contract. Let us recall, that the framework agreement envisages the procurement of 820 K2PL main battle tanks. As per the assumptions of this agreement, 500 K2PL main battle tanks are to be manufactured in Poland, while 320 would be made in South Korea.

In a very short time, not only have we been able to establish an agreement between Hyundai Rotem Company and the PGZ Group, between PGZ companies, but also between the Korean and Polish industries. This consortium agreement leads us into another several decades with a new product. It also paves the way towards signing further memoranda, more specific ones, targeted exclusively at the transfer of technologies, launch of manufacturing, and establishing maintenance services for those products, for decades to come.
Krzysztof Trofiniak, President at PGZ S.A.

The Parties uphold the commitments that had been made so far, while PGZ S.A. is to coordinate any key undertakings tied to the ToT, launch of manufacturing, and maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) services down to the depot level. PGZ S.A. expects Polish and polonized components to be used in K2PL, with polonization guaranteeing domestic manufacturing of components and spares, which has a critical relevance should an external threat to national security emerge.

If financing is approved by the Ministry of Finances and the BGK Bank, the second executive/performance contract concerning 180 K2PL main battle tanks, support equipment (including ARVs), and a logistics package, will most probably be signed in September, during the MSPO exhibition in Kielce.