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FA-50 will enhance the potential of Polish Air Force

07.06.2023

“In September last year in Mińsk Mazowiecki, Poland, I had the pleasure and honor to approve the contract for the supply of FA-50 light combat aircraft. The first units are already being delivered to Poland. This is an extremely important moment for the Air Force. We dispose of post-Soviet aircraft, and from now on, Polish combat aviation will only use F-16 and FA-50 aircraft, and soon also F-35. These three types come from the same family of excellent and modern aircraft. This is a great asset when building an interoperable air defense system and a unified training system. Our pilots have already completed their first FA-50 training in the Republic of Korea and will soon be ready to smoothly transition to use the new type of equipment” – said Mariusz Błaszczak, minister of national defence during his visit to South Korea.

SDF

On Wednesday, June 7, Deputy Prime Minister Mariusz Błaszczak took part in the official roll-out, i.e. the ceremonial departure from the KAI Factory of the first FA-50 Fighting Eagle aircraft for Poland.

“It should be emphasized that very good Polish-Korean cooperation means not only the aircraft purchase agreement but also a training, logistics and simulator packages. We currently negotiate a service center construction in Poland, based on cooperation between Korea Aerospace Industries and the Polish Armaments Group. It will enable us to train pilots using own training base and service the FA-50s in Poland. The purchase of the FA-50 is part of a larger project. Building Polish Armed Forces capable to deter the aggressor. Cooperation with the Republic of Korea significantly contributes to strengthening Poland's security”

– stressed MoD head.

The Ministers of Poland and Korea signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), under which the Joint Korean-Polish Committee (JKPC) on Cooperation in the Fields of Defense and Defense Industry will be established. After the signing of the memorandum, the first meeting of the Polish-Korean Council was held, chaired by the defense ministers of Poland and South Korea. Ultimately, the Council will consist of 6 working committees, and their main task will be to strengthen military, educational and R&D cooperation.

„Cooperation between Poland and South Korea is very close. We have appointed a committee, consisting of of 6 teams. This is a body fashioned after similar US-Korean bodies. It is to ascertain constant contact allowing to exchange our comments on cooperation. We want follow the model of Korean-American cooperation in Polish-American cooperation as well as with our Korean partner”

- said VP Błaszczak during third day of his visit to South Korea. 

The defense ministers of both countries also observed live fire training with the use of the K239 Chunmoo rocket artillery system and the K9 self-propelled howitzer.

“We witnessed today  a show of force that is very important to our whole concept of deterrence. Coordination of activities, interoperability with the American partner, these are the features that we instill in Poland. The cooperation with South Korea smoothens this process. Korean equipment is very modern and compatible with American equipment. It gives to Poland the strength, strength that deters an aggressor. We've seen how well FA-50 work together with the F-16 and F-35. We've seen that the K2 and K9 work great with American equipment. This is what we want, this is our goal in Poland”

– stressed VP M. Błaszczak fresh from live fire observation at Korean training field. 

***
On September 16, 2022 in Mińsk Mazowiecki, the head of the Ministry of National Defense approved 2 executive agreements for the acquisition from South Korea of FA-50 light combat aircraft in a configuration similar to that ordered by the Air Force of the Republic of Korea, together with training and logistics packages and technical support services. 12 aircraft from this contract will be delivered to the Polish Armed Forces this year.

The adopted,  military equipment sequential acquisition method will allow for optimal project management, and importantly enables the rapid, i.e. already in the first stage, achievement by the Polish Armed Forces the operational and training capabilities required by reinforcing them with modern military equipment compatible with F-16 C/D Block aircraft 52+ and contracted 5th generation F-35A aircraft.

***

Additionally, for K2 Black Panther tanks’ contracts with the Korean industry are being implemented; K239 Chunmoo multiple launchers and K9 Thunder self-propelled howitzers. The first batch of K2 tanks and K9 howitzers have already arrived in Poland.

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