Kathrine Frich
Equipment failure can decide whether soldiers survive or not.
For armoured crews, confidence in their vehicles is not a matter of comfort but of life and death.
That is why criticism of Poland’s newest tanks is drawing attention, despite official assurances that everything is under control.
Growing fleet
All 180 K2 Black Panther tanks ordered under a 2022 implementation agreement have already been delivered to Poland. The programme, however, is far from complete.
On August 1, 2025, a second agreement was signed for another 180 tanks. Under the broader framework deal concluded in 2022, Poland could ultimately acquire up to 1,000 K2 Black Panthers.
The tanks are presented by the Ministry of National Defense as a central pillar of Poland’s future armoured forces.
Expert criticism
Military analyst and columnist Jarosław Wolski says the operational reality differs sharply from official messaging. Writing on the X platform, he described what he sees as deep technical flaws.
“Korean engines are falling apart like Christmas trees on Epiphany,” Wolski wrote. He said the early period of service was troubled, adding: “The beginnings of their operation in Poland were quite difficult due to problems with fuel and lubricants.”
He continued that hopes for improvement faded over time. “After a series of absolutely unnecessary breakdowns at K2GF, I hoped the problem would disappear. Unfortunately, this has not been the case,” he wrote.
Mounting problems
According to Wolski, the scale of failures has grown rather than diminished. “The number of problems is now very serious, and engine overheating and cases of complete seizure of the drive units are particularly worrying,” he said.
He also highlighted other technical areas of concern, adding: “There are also serious problems with the ISU suspension.”
Wolski suggested that such issues raise questions about the tanks’ readiness for sustained operations.
Possible causes
The analyst pointed to several potential explanations. Among them are so-called infantile diseases that often affect newly introduced military platforms.
He also noted that the tanks are not serviced by the Polish defence industry. Another issue, he said, is the lack of dedicated driver training vehicles, meaning crews gain experience directly on combat-ready machines.
Comparisons drawn
In the same post, Wolski compared the K2 with other tanks used by the Polish Armed Forces. He said U.S.-made Abrams tanks are receiving very strong assessments.
He added that Leopard 2A5 and 2PL tanks show the lowest failure rates, largely because Polish industry has extensive experience maintaining them and because they are more tolerant of maintenance errors.
“Guinea pig” warning
Looking ahead, Wolski said improvements may still come. “Perhaps one day the Korean Hyundai Infracore DV27K HD engines will become good and reliable,” he wrote.
For now, however, he warned: “Currently we are acting as a guinea pig and a testing ground to refine this engine.” He added that the growing number of failures is alarming, saying that “neither the AGT1500 in the Abrams (turboshaft engine) nor the Ka.502 in the Leopard 2 have such problems.”
He ended with a final comparison: “Ironically, neither do the S12U from the surviving PT-91s…”
Sources: Wirtualna Polska, X
