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| Poland Orders of More than 200 Weapons From South Korea |
International Military - The increasing threat due to the Russo-Ukrainian war makes Poland want to increase its combat power by modernizing its defense equipment. This is because Poland shares a border with Ukraine. Therefore, Poland plans to buy some weapons from South Korea to strengthen its defenses.
As is well known, the KAI company from South Korea is currently on the rise. This is because its defense equipment products are starting to gain the trust of European countries. The South Korean-made defense equipment that Poland is eyeing is the FA 50 light fighter.
The FA 50 fighter has won the trust of European countries and NATO members thanks to its capabilities. Quoted from The Korea Economic Daily, Poland is getting closer to signing a defense system procurement agreement with South Korea which includes fighter jets, tanks and artillery.
During its visit to South Korea last month, the Polish arms procurement team showed interest in purchasing weapons systems made by the East Asian country. This is an attempt to replace some of its weapons which have been transferred to Ukraine.
It is known that Poland has provided some assistance to Ukraine to deal with the Russian threat, including the transfer of MiG-29 aircraft and T-72 tanks.
Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak last month reportedly visited the KAI factory in South Korea. On that occasion, he expressed his desire to buy the FA-50 light fighter. This was also conveyed by Mariusz Blaszczak during an interview with a local magazine recently. He confirmed that Poland would buy 48 FA 50 light fighters from South Korea.
He said the acquisition of 48 FA 50 aircraft would be enough to equip three squadrons with the first light fighter aircraft developed by Korean Aerospace Industries (KAI) to be acquired by Warsaw next year. This acquisition was carried out in an effort to strengthen its defense after the war that hit its neighbor, Ukraine.
Quoted from Defense Security Asia, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol also met with Polish President Andrzej Duda in Spain during the NATO conference to discuss the sale of the FA 50 light fighter aircraft to the Eastern European country. No half-hearted, Poland will also acquire various defense equipment from South Korea.
In addition to the FA 50 aircraft to be acquired by Poland, the Eastern European country will also acquire 180 South Korean K2 Black Panthers main tanks to strengthen its armored defenses. The K2 Black Panther main tank weighs 55 tons to 61 tons.
It uses the Rheimetall 120 mm L55 smoothbore gun, first entering South Korean military service in 2016 when 100 tanks were handed over to the country's military. The South Korean military hopes that there will be 300 K2 Black Panther units to serve with the South Korean military.
This is because the Black Panther is relatively lighter than the Abrams tank which uses a 1,500 horsepower engine. This South Korean-made tank is more powerful in terms of power-to-weight-ratio.
As for armor, it uses modular composite armor with an undisclosed composition and Explosive Reactive Armor (ERA) blocks. In addition, Poland also plans to produce tanks domestically by cooperating with tank manufacturer Hyundai Rotem.