August 6, 2026: The South Korean military is training half a million drone operators, using men drawn from the army, navy, air force, and marines. South Korea is building its own drones, and once domestic demand is fulfilled, drones will be another one of many South Korean weapons exports. South Korea will also offer training services, using former South Korean soldiers with drone experience. In part, this is a response to North Korea sending troops and weapons to assist Russian forces in Ukraine. Those North Korean soldiers who survive return as combat veterans.

Meanwhile, South Korea is the tenth largest weapons exporter worldwide. South Korea is also the fifth-largest defense manufacturer, with $10 billion in annual defense exports. South Korea is increasing its own defense budget by 8.6 percent to $47 billion in 2026. South Korea also helps the US Navy, which lacks sufficient shipyards for maintenance. South Korea is now doing a lot of work on U.S. warships in South Korean shipyards. South Korea is also developing a 4.5-generation version of its KF-21 fighter for delivery in 2026. South Korea is a major exporter of defense systems, ammunition, and weapons for warships. South Korea is providing European NATO nations with munitions and weapons to prepare for a potential Russian attack on those nations by 2030.

As a result of the Ukraine War, Poland, which borders Ukraine and Russia, decided to expand its armed forces, including the purchase of a thousand new South Korean K2 tanks. Most of these tanks will be produced in Poland under license, in cooperation with the South Korean manufacturer, which continues to supply some components. This will begin in 2026, making Poland the largest user of K2S, while South Korea has only a few hundred. Poland will also become the European country with the largest force of modern tanks. This is mainly to deter any Russian attacks on Poland or the neighboring Baltic States.

Currently, Poland has nearly 200 K2 tanks, as well as similar numbers of K9 self-propelled 155mm howitzers and Homar-K rocket launchers. Homar is similar to the American HIMARS vehicles. The Homar fire control system can handle HIMARS rockets, as well as several other rocket types. Poland can use HIMARS rockets as well as a wide variety of South Korean rockets.

South Korea is not only much wealthier than North Korea but also a major manufacturer and exporter of industrial goods, including modern South Korean-designed weapons. One of the best examples is the K2 Black Panther tank, which compares favorably with the latest version of the American M1. Unlike earlier South Korean-designed tanks, the K2 contains no American technology and is a completely South Korean creation. This allows the K2 to be freely exported, resulting in over 1,000 K2S in production or on order, most of which are for export customers.

The high quality of the K2 comes with a high price of over $8 million each, making it the most expensive tank in the world. In 2023, South Korea approved the production of the fourth batch of K2S, bringing the total to 410 K2S. That’s fewer than the 980 K2S Poland is acquiring. Poland faces a more formidable threat from Russia than South Korea faces from North Korea. While the K2 was a significant investment in South Korea’s defense capabilities against the persistent threat posed by North Korea, it has also proven to be a highly profitable export item.

Poland received its first 180 K2S in 2025 and has begun producing the remaining 820 in Poland under a manufacturing license. The K2 was developed by the South Korean Agency for Defense Development and manufactured by Hyundai Rotem. Introduced in 2014 after over two decades of development, the first model was a 56-ton tank armed with a 120mm NATO-compatible main gun, carrying 40 shells. The main gun has an autoloader, reducing the crew size from four to three. The autoloader enables the K2 to fire ten or more aimed shells per minute.

Tank-to-tank combat is usually short and intense. The tank that fires first and delivers the most well-aimed shells will win, even against multiple opponents. K2 armor includes metal and ERA explosive reactive armor in addition to an APS Active Protection System to intercept anti-tank guided missiles, ATGMs, and RPG/rocket-propelled anti-tank grenades. The 12.7mm machine guns on top of the turret can be operated from inside the tank using RWS/Remote Weapons System technology. The K2 also includes NBC (Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical) protection.

The K2’s armament is equally impressive. Its main armament is a domestically produced Rheinmetall 120mm L/55 smoothbore gun equipped with an autoloader. This gun, compatible with all standard NATO tank rounds, can also launch the advanced KSTAM Korean Smart Top-Attack Munition, an intelligent, fire-and-forget projectile that targets the thinner top armor of most tanks. Secondary armament includes a 12.7mm heavy machine gun and a 7.62mm machine gun.

The tank is further enhanced by a domestically developed auto-target detection and tracking system that incorporates hunter-killer functionality. The K2’s electric gun and turret driving system, along with the stabilization of its gunner’s primary sight and commander’s panoramic sight, enable effective day and night operations. The K2 also features an advanced suspension system that offers multiple positioning options to maximize combat effectiveness across various terrains.

With a top speed of 68 kilometers per hour on roads and 40 kilometers per hour cross-country, an auxiliary power unit allows the tank to remain stationary while keeping all its electronics powered and ready for action, without operating the main engine. The success of the K2 design has attracted numerous export customers.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, South Korea has emerged as an unexpected arms supplier for Ukraine, though not directly. South Korean law prohibits weapons sales to countries at war, so Seoul complies with—and effectively works around—this restriction by selling arms to Ukraine’s allies. Those allies then transfer to Ukraine the weapons that South Korean equipment replaces. This arrangement matters because South Korea has become a major defense producer. By 2019, it was the world’s 10th-largest defense manufacturer, up from 13th a few years earlier. In 2024, it ranked 8th in defense exports with a 2.8 percent share, behind the United States at 39 percent, Russia at 19 percent, and France at 11 percent.