After Fighter Jet Purchase, Poland Now Buying 300 Multiple-Rocket Launchers From South Korea

Mariusz Blaszczak, national defense minister of Poland, stands near U.S. soldiers during the visit ofthen- U.S. Vice President Mike Pence at a military base in Warsaw, Poland, on Feb. 13, 2019. Sean Gallup/Getty Images

Poland will sign a contract with South Korea to buy 300 K239 Chunmoo multiple-rocket launchers as Warsaw seeks to bolster defense capability amid the ongoing Russia–Ukraine war, according to the Polish defense minister.

Polish Defense Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said the two countries have completed their negotiations and that a contract will be signed during his visit to South Korea next week.

“It’s an excellent artillery weapon, and based on our observations from the war in Ukraine, we can clearly see how much advantage can artillery create on the battlefield,” Blaszczak said in an interview with local media I.PL on Oct. 15, DefenseNews reported.

Poland stated in 2021 that it would buy 500 M142 high-mobility artillery rocket systems (HIMARS) from the United States, but that plan has now been changed as Poland has decided to buy both the U.S. and South Korean launchers.

“We’re aware that we will not receive all 500 HIMARS launchers, for which we have sent a letter of request, within a timeline that would be satisfactory for us,” Blaszczak said.

He said the HIMARS order had been divided into stages, with the Hanwha-made Chunmoo launchers scheduled to arrive in 2023. The defense minister didn’t disclose the financial terms of the deal with South Korea.

“In addition to these launchers, we will also acquire a very large number of missiles, both precision strike missiles for a distance of up to 70 kilometers [43 miles] and tactical missiles with a range of about 300 kilometers [186 miles],” Blaszczak said.

Poland’s Other South Korean Purchase

The recent deal followed two contracts that Poland signed with South Korea in September to buy 48 FA-50 fighter planes for $3 billion. The first 12 jets will arrive in 2023, followed by another 36 aircraft from 2025 to 2028.

The two countries also agreed on a $5.8 billion contract in August for South Korea to supply tanks and howitzers to Poland.

Polish President Andrzej Duda said the purchase of the FA-50 fighters will allow his nation “to fully give up the use of the (Soviet-made) MiG-29 and the Su-22” that the Polish armed forces now possess.

The deals with Poland have paved the way for South Korean fighter jets to enter the European Union and NATO markets. South Korea aims to become one of the world’s top four weapons exporters, having signed sizable arms deals this year with the United Arab Emirates, Poland, Egypt, and others.

“By entering the [list of the] world’s top four defense exporters after the United States, Russia, and France, the defense industry will become a strategic industrialization and a defense powerhouse,” South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol said in a recent speech.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.