Mariusz Blaszczak, Polish Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of National Defense signed agreements on Wednesday on South Korean weapons for the Polish army: these are light FA-50 fighters, К2 tanks and К9 self-propelled howitzers.
According to European Pravda, the PAP agency reports this.
Orders for К2 tanks were divided into two stages. At the first stage, Poland will purchase 180 cars - deliveries will begin this year, at the second - more than 800 tanks of the K2PL standard and the launch of production in Poland in 2026. Tanks delivered at the first stage will also be brought to the K2PL standard.
The procurement of К9 self-propelled howitzers was also broken up into stages. The first involves the acquisition of 48 howitzers, some of which will be delivered to Poland this year to make up for the shortage of equipment transferred to Ukraine. In 2024, deliveries of more than 600 howitzers are due to begin, from 2026 the guns will be produced in Poland.
K9 will be equipped with Polish communication systems from the beginning, they will also be connected to the integrated Topaz combat control system.
Poland will also purchase 48 light FA-50 fighters from South Korea, with the first 12 due to be delivered to Poland in mid-2023. The aircraft will be configured in accordance with the requirements of the Polish Air Force and equipped with a NATO Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) system
According to Lieutenant Colonel Krzysztof Platek, the choice of this aircraft is due "primarily to its availability and the fact that it can quickly replace outdated post-Soviet equipment - Su-22 and MiG-29," and in the final configuration with guided missiles and a new radar will complement the F-16 fighters.
FA-50 is a multi-purpose aircraft that can be used for advanced training and as a combat vehicle armed with guided and unguided bombs, air-to-air missiles and a gun. It was developed by Korea Aerospace Industries in collaboration with Lockheed Martin - manufacturer of F-16 and F-35.
K2 Black Panther is the main battle tank produced by Huyndai Rotem, which has been in service with the Korean Army since 2014. Armed with a 120 mm smoothbore gun with automatic loading and a 12.7 mm machine gun, it is equipped with self-defense systems capable of, among other things, destroying or "blinding" shells fired into it. The crew consists of three people. The tank is equipped with a diesel engine, it can overcome water obstacles up to 4.1 m high, weighs 55 tons.
The Hanhwa Defense K9 Thunder self-propelled howitzer is armed with a 155 mm gun with a range of 40 km. From this machine comes the chassis of the Polish howitzer Krab manufactured by Huta Stanowa Wola.
It was also reported that Poland bought 250 Abrams tanks of the latest modification from the United States.
Poland also wants to double the size of the army because of Russia and Belarus.
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