Poland to buy 288 rocket artillery launchers from South Korea

Warsaw has sealed a deal to buy 288 rocket artillery launchers from South Korea in the latest round of a military spending spree aimed at bolstering Poland’s defences amid Russia’s war in neighbouring Ukraine.

The first squadron of K239 Chunmoo launchers is expected to arrive in Poland next year. Signing the agreement on Wednesday, Poland’s defence minister, Mariusz Błaszczak, said the South Korean launchers are similar to HIMARS systems that Poland is buying from the United States under a deal in 2019.

Warsaw had asked if more HIMARS systems were available, “but – unfortunately – due to limited industrial capacity, this equipment will not be delivered to us within a satisfactory time period,” Błaszczak said. Poland then turned to South Korea, “our proven partner, our friend.”

The K239 Chunmoo launchers, which are to be mounted on Polish-made Jelcz trucks, have a range of up to 290 km, depending on the kind of rockets used, and will be deployed to protect eastern Poland, which is also the eastern flank of NATO.

“Analysis of the war in Ukraine, especially analysis of the effective defence against the Russian invasion by the Ukrainian side, shows how important and significant artillery is,” Błaszczak said, quoted by the Polish Press Agency (PAP). “Hence our decision to strengthen Poland’s artillery, especially rocket artillery.”

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Poland has sought to rapidly boost its military capabilities. In March, the government moved to increase defence spending to 3% of GDP – one of the highest relative levels in NATO – and has since embarked on a spending spree.

That has included a $5.76 billion (€5.89 billion) contract with two South Korean firms for K2 tanks and K9 self-propelled howitzers, in what was part of the Asian country’s biggest ever arms deal. The first units are due to arrive this year.

Subsequently, Warsaw announced a deal for 48 South Korean FA-50 light combat aircraft, to replace ageing Soviet-designed MiG-29s used by the Polish air force.

Poland has also been purchasing equipment from the United States, including Abrams tanks, Patriot air defence systems, F-35 combat aircraft, attack helicopters and drones. Błaszczak declared in July that Poland would soon have “the most powerful land forces in Europe”.

Main image credit: MON (under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 PL)

Peter Kononczuk

Peter Kononczuk is senior editor at Notes from Poland. He was previously a journalist for Agence France-Presse (AFP) in London and Warsaw.