Poland’s outgoing defense chief drops $2.6 billion on Hanwha howitzers

WARSAW, Poland — Poland’s outgoing National Defence Minister Mariusz Błaszczak has signed what is likely the last major weapon acquisition contract inked before the nation’s forthcoming change in government, ordering some 152 self-propelled howitzers from South Korea’s Hanwha Defense.

Under the deal, Poland’s Army will receive six K9A1 and 146 K9PL howitzers in the years 2025 to 2027. The contract has a net value of some $2.6 billion, the Polish Armed Forces said in a statement.

“The deal also includes a training and logistics package, and the delivery of a substantial stockpile of 155mm ammunition, comprising several tens of thousands of units,” the statement said.

To enable the future production of K9PL howitzers in Poland , Hanwha Defense has signed an agreement with the country’s state-run defense group PGZ.

Last October, Poland’s opposition won the country’s general election. Since then, a coalition of center-right, liberal and left-wing parties has taken over control in the parliament. A new Cabinet is expected to be sworn in by the end of the year, replacing rule by the right-wing Law and Justice party that implemented an unprecedented spending spree on defense gear in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Meanwhile, some politicians from the parties that are readying to form the new government are criticizing the ministry’s latest move.

Paweł Bejda, a lawmaker for the Polish People’s Party, stated the acquisition could be detrimental to the domestic production of the Krab , a self-propelled howitzer manufactured by PGZ. To make the Krab’s chassis, PGZ’s subsidiary Huta Stalowa Wola purchased a license for the technology used in the chassis of the K9 Thunder howitzer from Hanwha Defense.

“All the deals whose implementation will be the responsibility of the new government should be signed by that government,” Bejda said in a post on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

Jaroslaw Adamowski is the Poland correspondent for Defense News.

波兰华沙——波兰即将卸任的国防部长马里乌什·布瓦什恰克签署了一份可能是该国即将换届政府之前签署的最后一份重大武器采购合同，向韩国韩华防务公司订购了约152门自行榴弹炮。

根据协议，波兰陆军将在2025年至2027年期间接收6门K9A1型和146门K9PL型榴弹炮。波兰武装部队在一份声明中表示，该合同净值约为26亿美元。

声明称：“该协议还包括培训和后勤保障方案，以及交付大量155毫米弹药，数量达数万发。”

为了使 K9PL 榴弹炮未来能够在波兰生产，韩华防务公司与波兰国营国防集团 PGZ 签署了一项协议。

去年十月，波兰反对派赢得了大选。此后，由中右翼、自由派和左翼政党组成的联盟掌控了议会。预计新内阁将于年底宣誓就职，取代右翼法律与公正党的执政地位。在俄罗斯入侵乌克兰之后，法律与公正党曾史无前例地大肆采购国防装备。

与此同时，一些准备组建新政府的政党的政治家正在批评该部的最新举措。

波兰人民党议员帕维尔·贝达表示，此次收购可能会对波兰国家武器公司（PGZ）生产的“蟹式”（Krab）自行榴弹炮的国内生产造成不利影响。为了制造“蟹式”榴弹炮的底盘，PGZ的子公司Huta Stalowa Wola从韩华防务公司购买了K9“雷霆”（Thunder）榴弹炮底盘所用技术的许可。

“所有由新政府负责执行的协议都应该由新政府签署，”贝伊达在社交媒体平台 X（前身为 Twitter）上发帖说。

Jaroslaw Adamowski 是《防务新闻》驻波兰记者。