South Korean officials say major sale of weapons to Poland is imminent

SEOUL, South Korea, and WARSAW, Poland — Korean defense companies Hyundai Rotem, Korea Aerospace Industries and Hanwha Defense expect to sign a memorandum of understand on July 27 with the Polish Ministry of Defense for wide-ranging weapon exports, officials here said.

A senior official of the Korean Presidential Office recently met these companies’ executives to discuss export volume, price, and timeline, following President Yoon Suk-yeol’s defense sales diplomacy during the recent NATO summit, according to these officials.

The Polish government is reportedly discussing with the Korean defense companies the acquisition of K-2 tanks from Hyundai Rotem, FA50 light attack aircraft from KAI, and K9 self-propelled artillery from Hanwha under a long-term arrangement.

The three companies’ export volume could reach up to 19 trillion Korean won ($14.5 billion) when all of those sales are added up. Specifically, Hyundai Rotem is talking with Poland to supply 180 K2 tanks (worth 3 trillion KRW, or $2.3 billion) by 2024, and the country may additionally purchase 400 K2 tanks by 2030, worth 8 trillion KRW, or $6.1 billion. KAI is discussing selling 48 light attack aircraft FA50 for 3.4 trillion KRW, or $2.6 billion. Poland also plans to purchase 670 K9 self-propelled artilleries that worth 4-5 trillion KRW, or $3 billion to $3.8 billion.

A spokesperson at the Ministry of Defense in Warsaw declined to provide details about what deals are on the table in the two countries’ negotiations, saying only details would be released soon. “The ongoing talks concern not only the acquisition of military equipment to strengthen the Polish Armed Forces, they are also related to the issues of industrial cooperation and transfer of technology,” the spokesperson told Defense News.

In an interview published by local site Wpolityce.pl on July 22, Polish National Defense Minister Mariusz Błaszczak confirmed Poland is finalizing negotiations with South Korea to buy 48 FA-50 aircraft and an undisclosed number of K2 tanks.

“We will receive the first units this year; in total, it will be 180 tanks in the first batch,” he said.

Defense exports to Poland would be the South Korean defense companies’ first sales to Europe, raising the prospect of additional deals there and elsewhere. Specifically, South Korean companies are eying tenders in Norway, Australia, Malaysia and Colombia.

Meanwhile, Błaszczak announced Poland has decided to buy 116 used M1 Abrams tanks from the U.S. on top of its previous order for 250 new tanks to replace the Soviet-designed T-72 tanks it has supplied to Ukraine.

“These tanks are stored by the United States Army. The first of these tanks will be delivered to the Polish Armed Forces next year. We want them to fill in the gaps left after we donated our gear to Ukraine,” Błaszczak said during a press conference on July 18.

The value of the procurement was not disclosed. However, the minister said that Warsaw will pay the U.S. for restoring the tanks’ operational capacities, an accompanying logistics package, and spare parts. Błaszczak said the 116 tanks represent “an older version” of the M1 Abrams.

Daehan Lee was a South Korea correspondent for Defense News. He had previously worked at the U.S. and Belgian embassies in Seoul, for the People Power Party, and for election camps. He also served as a translator for the South Korean Navy. His interests include Asia-Pacific security, defense acquisition, South Korean politics and foreign policy.

Jaroslaw Adamowski is the Poland correspondent for Defense News.

韩国首尔和波兰华沙——韩国官员表示，韩国国防企业现代Rotem、韩国航空航天工业公司和韩华防务公司预计将于7月27日与波兰国防部签署一份谅解备忘录，内容涉及广泛的武器出口。

据这些官员透露，继尹锡悦总统在最近的北约峰会期间开展国防销售外交之后，韩国总统府一位高级官员最近会见了这些公司的管理人员，讨论了出口量、价格和时间表。

据报道，波兰政府正在与韩国国防公司商讨根据长期协议从现代Rotem公司采购K-2坦克，从韩国航空航天工业公司（KAI）采购FA50轻型攻击机，以及从韩华公司采购K9自行火炮。

这三家公司的出口总额可能高达19万亿韩元（约合145亿美元）。具体而言，现代Rotem公司正与波兰洽谈，计划在2024年前向波兰供应180辆K2坦克（价值3万亿韩元，约合23亿美元），波兰可能还会在2030年前追加采购400辆K2坦克，价值8万亿韩元（约合61亿美元）。韩国航空航天工业公司（KAI）正在商讨向波兰出售48架FA-50轻型攻击机，价值3.4万亿韩元（约合26亿美元）。波兰还计划采购670门K9自行火炮，价值4万亿至5万亿韩元（约合30亿至38亿美元）。

华沙国防部发言人拒绝透露两国谈判的具体内容，仅表示相关细节将在近期公布。该发言人告诉《防务新闻》：“目前的谈判不仅涉及采购军事装备以加强波兰武装部队，还涉及工业合作和技术转让等问题。”

波兰国防部长马里乌什·布瓦什恰克在7月22日接受当地网站Wpolityce.pl采访时证实，波兰正在与韩国敲定购买48架FA-50战斗机和数量不详的K2坦克的谈判。

“我们今年将收到首批设备；首批总共将有180辆坦克，”他说。

向波兰出口国防产品将是韩国国防企业首次对欧洲销售，这提高了其在欧洲及其他地区达成更多交易的可能性。具体而言，韩国企业正在关注挪威、澳大利亚、马来西亚和哥伦比亚的招标项目。

与此同时，布瓦什恰克宣布，波兰决定从美国购买 116 辆二手 M1 艾布拉姆斯坦克，此前波兰已订购 250 辆新坦克，以替换其向乌克兰提供的苏联设计的 T-72 坦克。

“这些坦克由美国陆军储存。首批坦克将于明年交付波兰武装部队。我们希望它们能填补我们向乌克兰捐赠装备后留下的空白，”布拉什恰克在7月18日的新闻发布会上说。

采购金额未予披露。不过，这位部长表示，华沙将向美国支付费用，用于恢复这些坦克的作战能力、提供配套的后勤保障以及备件。布瓦什恰克称，这116辆坦克是M1艾布拉姆斯坦克的“老款”。

李大汉曾任《防务新闻》驻韩国记者。此前，他曾在美国和比利时驻首尔大使馆、国民力量党以及多个选举营地工作。他还曾担任韩国海军的翻译。他的研究领域包括亚太安全、国防采购、韩国政治和外交政策。

Jaroslaw Adamowski 是《防务新闻》驻波兰记者。