Poland is to sign an agreement with South Korea for the acquisition of tanks, howitzers and three squadrons of aircraft next week, announced defence minister Mariusz Błaszczak on Friday.
This would be yet another purchase for the Polish army in recent months following a string of military purchases as part of efforts to boost national defence in the face of Russia’s aggression on Ukraine.
“Next week, we will sign an agreement with South Korea on the acquisition of military equipment, weapons, proven weapons, for the Polish army,” said Błaszczak, quoted by RMF FM.
Tym kontraktem znacznie zwiększymy bezpieczeństwo Polski i siłę Wojska Polskiego. Kluczowe są szybkie dostawy i rozwój przemysłu! Pogodziliśmy często rozbieżne interesy żołnierzy i zbrojeniówki. To sytuacja win-win dla obu tych grup. W przyszłym tygodniu podpisujemy umowy! https://t.co/ZaBmD0cx9k
— Mariusz Błaszczak (@mblaszczak) July 22, 2022
The first cannon howitzers and tanks should arrive in Poland later this year, followed next year by the first aircraft, added Błaszczak.
In a separate interview also published on Friday, the defence minister said that Poland intends to buy 48 FA-50 fighter aircraft and 180 K2 tanks from South Korea. It is not yet clear how many K9 cannon howitzers Poland will be able to buy, although the minister indicated that it intends to purchase “as many howitzers as possible”.
“As a result, the defence capabilities of Poland will increase by leaps and bounds,” said Błaszczak. “We want it to happen as fast as possible, we are aware of the challenges that Poland faces relating to the war in Ukraine, we are aware of Putin’s aggressive policy, Putin’s attempt to recreate the Russian empire.”
“Our aim is to deter an aggressor and to strengthen the Polish army as much as possible,” he added.
Initially, tanks will be manufactured in South Korea, with subsequent units produced in Poland. Błaszczak said that talks are underway between the Polish Armament Group (PGZ) and Korean companies on the production and later servicing of this equipment.
“This is a piece of equipment compatible with, or even identical to, the US equipment, [it was] constructed with US companies,” Błaszczak told Sieci weekly. He was referring to US Abrams tanks, the purchase of which Poland announced earlier this month.
The K2 Black Panther is a main battle tank manufactured by Huyndai Rotem, part of the Korean army’s equipment since 2014. Armed with an automatically loaded 120mm smoothbore cannon and a 12.7mm machine gun, it is equipped with self-defence systems whose capabilities include destroying or “blinding” projectiles fired in its direction.
The South Korean FA-50 aircraft are light, multi-role aircraft based on the F-16 and were developed in partnership with the US-based Lockheed Martin, Major General Jacek Pszczoła told the Polish Press Agency (PAP).
Main photo credit: Korea Aerospace Industries / flickr.com under (CC BY 2.0)
Alicja Ptak is senior editor at Notes from Poland and a multimedia journalist. She previously worked for Reuters.
