The agreement was signed by the state-owned Polish Armaments Group (PGZ) and South Korean Hanwha Aerospace.
The CEO of PGZ, Krzysztof Trofiniak, told reporters on Friday, that the deal “opens the way to the transfer to the Polish Steelworks Stalowa Wola of technology necessary for servicing and repairing K9 gun howitzers purchased by the Polish Army.”
He said that,
in the future, Poland will strive to have K9 howitzers produced domestically.
Paweł Bejda, a deputy defense minister, said that ultimately, Poland is to become a repair and service hub for Korean military equipment used by European armies.
Currently, K9 gun howitzers are also used in Estonia, Finland and Norway.
Polonization of Korean equipment
Bejda added that cooperation with South Korea will not be based on “one-off purchases,” but on a broader partnership,
including technology transfer and “polonization” of Korean equipment.
He declared that the
Polish government’s goal is to spend 50% of the money allocated for armaments in the Polish industry.
“We will do everything to ensure that the Polish arms industry is a driving force for the entire economy,” he added.
Under the current agreements,
Poland is to acquire 218 K9A1 howitzers and 146 Polonized K9PL.
The first
$2.4 billion deal for South Korean 212 K9A1 howitzers, to be delivered to the Polish Armed Forces in the years 2022-2026, was signed on August 26, 2022.
On December 1, 2022 a second contract was concluded under which Poland will acquire another six self-propelled K9 howitzers in 2025, and 146 self-propelled howitzers of the K9PL version in 2026-2027.
