Poland will sign a deal with South Korea to purchase 300 K239 Chunmoo multi-rocket launchers as Warsaw seeks to boost its defense capabilities amid the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian war, the Polish Defense Minister said.
Poland’s Defense Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Marius Blaszczak said the two sides had completed negotiations and the deal would be signed during his visit to South Korea next week.
“This is an excellent artillery weapon, and based on observations from the war in Ukraine, we can clearly understand how much advantage artillery can create on the battlefield,” Blaszczak said on October 15. said in an interview with local media I.PL. defense news report.
Poland said it would purchase 500 M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) from the United States in 2021, but plans have now changed as Poland decided to purchase both U.S. and South Korean launchers. there is
“We are aware that we will not be able to receive all 500 HIMARS launchers we have sent a request for within a timeline that satisfies us,” Blaszczak said.
Blaszczak said the HIMARS command is being broken up in phases and the Hanwha-made Chunmoo launcher is expected to arrive in 2023. The defense minister did not disclose the financial terms of the deal with South Korea.
“In addition to these launchers, we will also get a very large number of missiles, both precision strike missiles with a range of up to 70 kilometers (43 miles) and tactical missiles with a range of about 300 kilometers (186 miles),” he said. Added.
Other Korean purchases in Poland
The latest deal follows two deals Poland signed with South Korea in September to buy 48 FA-50 fighter jets for $3 billion. The first of his 12 aircraft will arrive in 2023, and from 2025 he will have another 36 arriving in 2028.
The two countries also agreed in August to a $5.8 billion deal for South Korea to supply Poland with tanks and howitzers.
Polish President Andrzej Duda says the purchase of FA-50 fighters will allow the Polish military to “completely abandon the use of the (Soviet-made) MiG-29s and Su-22s” it currently possesses. said it would.
The Polish contract paved the way for South Korean fighters to enter the European Union and NATO markets. South Korea aims to become one of her four arms exporters in the world this year, signing major arms deals with the United Arab Emirates, Poland, Egypt and others.
“By entering [list of the] South Korea’s president Yoon Seok-yeol, one of the world’s four defense exporters after the United States, Russia and France, said the defense industry will become a strategic industrialization and defense powerhouse. recent speech.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Aldgra Fredly is a Malaysia-based freelance writer covering Asia Pacific news for The Epoch Times.