Poland to buy hundreds of Korean Chunmoo multiple rocket launchers

WARSAW, Poland – Poland has completed negotiations with South Korea to purchase nearly 300 K239 Chunmoo multiple rocket launchers, a contract to be signed during the visit next week of the Polish Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Mariusz Blaszczak in Seoul.

“It’s a great artillery weapon, and based on our observations of the war in Ukraine, we can clearly see how much advantage artillery can create on the battlefield,” Błaszczak told the site. information local I.PL.

Last May, the Minister announced that he had signed a letter of request for the purchase of approximately 500 M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS, in the United States. However, the latest developments indicate that Warsaw understands that it will not be able to buy as many US systems as it originally planned.

“We are aware that we will not receive the 500 HIMARS launchers, for which we have sent a letter of request, within a period convenient for us,” Błaszczak said. “We decided to divide the HIMARS order into several stages. We will have both the HIMARS and the Chunmoo.

The minister said that under the plan, the first South Korean launchers, manufactured by the Hanwha Group, are to be delivered to Poland in 2023.

“In addition to these launchers, we will also acquire a very large number of missiles, both precision strike missiles with a range of up to 70 km and tactical missiles with a range of about 300 km “, according to Blaszczak.

The value of the planned contract, which will further entrench Poland’s dependence on South Korean weapons, was not disclosed. A series of deals signed in recent months for the purchase of tanks, howitzers and aircraft has made Seoul the country’s largest defense customer in Europe.