WARSAW, Poland — Poland’s Ministry of National Defence has signed a contract to buy 72 K239 Chunmoo multi-barreled missile launchers from South Korea’s Hanwha Aerospace for roughly $1.6 billion, the company said in a statement.
The deal was inked on April 25 during an official visit of a Polish delegation to South Korea led by First Deputy Defence Minister Paweł Bejda.
The development comes amid heated negotiations between Warsaw and Seoul on the financial terms of ongoing South Korean weapon deliveries to Poland, which were contracted by the previous Polish government. Sworn in last December, the Cabinet of Prime Minister Donald Tusk inherited a number of major deals for the purchase of FA-50 light attack aircraft, K9 howitzers, K2 Black Panther tanks, and Chunmoo launchers.
The previous government of the right-wing Law and Justice party had inked framework contracts with Seoul, but financing for a large share of the gear still needs to be secured by the incumbent centrist Cabinet. Deliveries were initiated in 2023, but numerous tranches covered by the signed framework deals have yet to be bought through what Polish have called executive contracts. Warsaw and Seoul have engaged in intense negotiations to work out the financial terms of further purchases.
In February 2024, Polish Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz criticized the initial terms offered by Seoul as unfavorable to Warsaw.
Meanwhile, Poland has received the U.S. State Department’s approval to buy 360 Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missiles - Extended Range (AARGM-ER) from the United States, according to an April 25 statement from the Pentagon’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency. The envisioned deal, which includes maintenance support and spares, could be worth some $1.275 billion. Congress must still approve the export.
Northrop Grumman makes the AARGM-ER missile.
Jaroslaw Adamowski is the Poland correspondent for Defense News.
