On Monday, 26 May, the Slovak Shield 2025 international military exercise culminated at the Lešť Training Centre in Slovakia with the participation of Slovak President Peter Pellegrini, Slovak Minister of Defence Robert Kaliňák and Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic Daniel Zmeko. The largest military exercise ever held in Slovakia was attended by members of the armed forces from a total of seven countries, including Poland, which brought its K2 Black Panther tanks to the Lešť training area. This is the first time these tanks have been deployed abroad, allowing Slovak soldiers to familiarise themselves with the characteristics and capabilities of these machines, which may be of interest to Slovakia in the future.

The Slovak Shield international military exercise has been held annually since 2015. This year's 10th edition of this complex exercise, which took place from 12 to 28 May, was attended by a total of 1,179 soldiers from Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, Spain, the USA and Georgia. The aim of the exercise was to coordinate the Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic and NATO allied forces in defending the territorial integrity of the Slovak Republic. The exercise included live firing from Zuzana 2 howitzers and the deployment of UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters.

As Slovak President Peter Pellegrini said in connection with the exercise, Slovak Shield 2025 demonstrated, among other things, real progress in the modernisation of the Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic, which must be prepared for new challenges. According to Pellegrini, the Slovak army needs to be equipped with the most modern technology to be able to defend the territorial integrity of the republic, protect its citizens and assist in natural disasters. In connection with the Slovak president's words, one of the most interesting moments of the entire exercise was the deployment of Polish K2 Black Panther tanks. This was their first deployment within the Polish army on the territory of another country, which was a logistical challenge for Polish soldiers and an opportunity for Slovak soldiers to see them in action.

A total of four K2 Black Panther tanks, which serve in the 1st Tank Battalion of the 9th Armoured Brigade in Braniewo, were presented at the Slovak Shield 2025 exercise. The Polish Army currently has 110 K2 Black Panther tanks in service, out of a total of 180 purchased from the Korean company Hyundai Rotem in the summer of 2022 for $3.37 billion. Poland has ordered a total of 1,000 K2 tanks, 820 of which are to be produced in Poland in a Polish version, the K2PL.

The four K2 tanks were transported to Slovakia by members of the Polish Army's 16th Logistics Regiment using Mercedes-Benz Zetros 3348AS 6x6 vehicles and Dobrowolski NC wz 21 semi-trailers. The transport of the tanks to the Lešť Training Centre demonstrated the possibility of transporting K2 Black Panther tanks within the existing Slovak infrastructure. However, in many respects, this infrastructure does not meet the needs of the Slovak Army, which will have to rearm itself with modern Western-type tanks.

The deployment of K2 Black Panther tanks by Poland as part of the Slovak Shield 2025 exercise also gave members and representatives of the Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic the opportunity to familiarise themselves with these machines and see them in action. The lessons learned from the Slovak Shield 2025 exercise may play an important role in the modernisation of the Land Forces of the Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic, which are expecting a decision on the purchase of new modern tanks in the near future. According to the Ministry of Defence's Long-Term Development Plan for 2035, a decision on the purchase of new tanks for the army is to be made by 2026. The Slovak army currently has obsolete T-72M1 tanks and 15 Leopard 2A4 tanks, which Slovakia received from Germany in exchange for 30 BVP-1 combat vehicles for Ukraine. Slovakia plans to purchase up to 104 new tanks in the future, with the German Leopard 2 A8 and the Polish version of the K2 tank, designated K2PL, among the favourites, or alternatively, the CV90120 light tanks.

Slovak Defence Minister Robert Kaliňák, who originally advocated the joint purchase of Leopard 2 A8 tanks with Germany and the Czech Republic, has also expressed interest in the K2PL tanks. However, due to the consolidation of public finances and the financial demands of other modernisation projects, cheaper options for rearming the tank battalion are now being sought. The possible purchase of K2 tanks for the Slovak army has already been discussed in the past, precisely because of their success in Poland. This interest is now reviving in connection with the deepening cooperation between Slovakia and Poland in the field of defence, and the involvement of the Slovak defence industry in the production of these tanks could also be on the cards. However, the production of a Polish version of the K2 tanks is not yet underway, so it is difficult to assess what the acquisition of these tanks by the Slovak army might look like in concrete terms. Nevertheless, thanks to the Slovak Shield 2025 exercise, Slovak soldiers have gained knowledge about the K2 tanks, which they can use in the future and pass on to representatives of the Ministry of Defence.