West News Wire: In an effort to strengthen the country’s defenses in light of the conflict in neighboring Ukraine, Poland struck a contract on Wednesday to purchase hundreds of South Korean multiple rocket launchers.
The K239 Chunmoo systems, according to Poland’s deputy prime minister and defense minister Mariusz Blaszczak, are comparable to the American-made HIMARS launchers that Poland is also purchasing a number of.
In order to purchase 288 Chunmoo launchers, which he referred to as a “really good, well-proven weapon,” Blaszczak said Poland had to turn to its “tested partner, our colleagues” in South Korea because it couldn’t obtain as many HIMARS as it would have liked in a short period of time.
Lt. Gen. Lee Jong-sup, South Korea’s defense minister, claimed that the agreement takes bilateral cooperation to new heights.
In July and September, Poland signed deals for billions of dollars worth of tanks, howitzers and fighter planes from South Korea. Delivery of the tanks and howitzers has started, according to Blaszczak.
The mobile rocket launchers are expected to be delivered starting next year and will be installed on Polish-made Jelcz trucks.
Poland, like other European nations and the United States, has sent military equipment to Ukraine since the war started in late February. The government in Warsaw is seeking to replace some of that equipment with new purchases while stressing that the country’s arms are only for deterrence and defense.
