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| Poland Wants Chunmoo K239 MLRS System From South Korea |
It is known that military cooperation between Poland and South Korea has recently increased sharply. Prior to being interested in acquiring the K239 MLRS, Poland had signed a contract to procure 180 units of the K2 Black Panther MBT and 600 units of the K9 Thunder 155 SPH. The procurement of large-scale defense equipment for the Polish military is related to the situation in neighboring Ukraine, which has been at war with Russia since February 2022.
Read Also: Apart the F-50 Fighter, Poland also Acquisition 850 K2 Black Panther Tanks from South Korea
Defense Minister Mariusz Błaszczak has stated that Poland will have “the most powerful land power in Europe” thanks to continued investment by the government, by increasing the defense budget to 3% of GDP, one of the highest levels in a NATO country and aiming to further increase it to 5 %.
Despite the desire to add a multi-barreled rocket launcher system from South Korea, currently the Polish military is estimated to have a total of 179 MLRS, including 75 Soviet-era BM-21s, then 29 Czech-made RM-70s, and 75 locally made Langusta WR-40s. .
About K239 Chunmoo, also known as K-MLRS (Korean MLRS), is a multi-caliber field artillery rocket system designed and manufactured by the South Korean company Hanwha Corp. Chunmoo's K239 project started in 2009 and was completed in late 2013. This system was developed to replace the aging K136 Kooryong MLRS.
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| CHUNMOO K-MLRS K239 130MM 227MM 239MM, Multi-caliber Launch Rocket System South Korea |
For specifications, the K239 Chunmoo weighs around 25 tons. It is 9 m long, 2.5 m wide and 3 m high. To operate it requires a crew of three. The rocket-propelled vehicle is 8X8, equipped with a 400 hp diesel engine, with a maximum speed of 80 km/h and an operating range of 800 km.
K239 Chunmoo carries a weapons rack with a choice of 130 mm (20 rocket) caliber rockets then 227 mm (12) and 239 mm (12). Its effective firing range is 36 km with 130 mm rockets, 45 km for 227 mm rockets, and 80 km with 239 mm guided rockets. With the guidance system in the form of Inertia plus GPS.
Besides being used domestically by the South Korean Army and Marine Corps, the K239 Chunmoo has also been exported to the UAE as many as 12 systems.