Poland is buying South Korean jets to replace aging Soviet fighters.

• Poland recently signed a $14.5 billion deal with South Korea to buy weapons, tanks and aircraft.
• It is one of Poland’s biggest arms deals and the biggest yet for South Korea’s growing defense sector.
• The deal comes as tensions in Europe add urgency to Poland’s military reform plans.

On July 27, Poland signed its largest-ever arms deal for more artillery, tanks and aircraft to modernize its military amid heightened tensions in Europe.

Warsaw’s $14.5 billion deal with South Korea — the largest ever for South Korea’s defense industry — includes 1,000 K2 Black Panther tanks, nearly 700 K9 self-propelled howitzers and 48 FA-50 light fighter jets.

The size of the contract and Warsaw’s decision to buy from a military exporter also reflect a mindset influenced by European geopolitics.

Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Bslaszczak said in an interview with Poland Defense 24: “The criminal attack by the Russian Federation, the criminal attack against Ukraine and the unpredictable nature of Putin mean that we need to further accelerate the modernization of the equipment.”

Faster, better, safer

Rapid modernization of Poland’s air force is a priority for Warsaw to replace its 23 MiG-29s and 18 Su-22s – aging Soviet-designed multi-role aircraft that are difficult to maintain.

Poland already has 36 US-made F-16 fighter jets and has ordered 32 F-35A stealth jets from the US by 2020, but is one of only three NATO countries with MiG-29s and the only European country still flying the Su-22. .

The 48 FA-50s from South Korea will help Warsaw advance that modernization effort.

The FA-50 is a capable light combat aircraft. It reaches a top speed of Mach 1.5 and carries a variety of bombs and air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles. Poland will accept the revised Bloc 20 model compatible with NATO systems, Błaszczak said.

However, Poland chose the FA-50 not only for its combat capability, but also for its rapid availability. Warsaw observed other aircraft, including an F-16, but none arrived fast enough.

“It is key for Poland to raise security levels as soon as possible,” said the Polish Defense Minister. The Polish Air Force is set to receive the first 12 FA-50s in mid-2023.

In addition, the FA-50 is based on South Korea’s T-50 trainer and light combat aircraft, developed by Korea Aerospace Industries in partnership with Lockheed Martin, which builds the F-16.

Therefore, the FA-50 shares design elements and components with the F-16, simplifying maintenance and pilot training.

“A pilot trained on the FA-50 needs only a few hours to start flying the F-16 on his own,” Błaszczak told Defense 24. “The cost of training is much less, and so we can. To train more pilots.”

According to the contract with South Korea, an FA-50 maintenance and service facility will be established in Poland in 2026.

“Thanks to that acquisition, we’ll have a new direction of exchange that’s especially important for high-impact conflicts when a supply chain can be disrupted,” Bslaczak said. “This will make it possible to operate combat aircraft at a higher level in Poland.”

Time to renew

Poland has often upgraded its aging Soviet military aircraft to make them NATO-compatible, but keeping them combat-ready is a challenge — especially as the user base shrinks and sanctions against Russia limit the supply of spare parts.

“We have to buy it [spares] In Russia and this should be avoided for obvious reasons, “said Bslaczak, referring to the tension with Moscow.

Polska Grupa Zbrogeniowa produces MiG-29 units locally and maintains Poland’s MiG-20s and Su-22s. However, the company cannot produce MiG-29 engines. In addition, locally made components in 2010 They were connected to the MiG-29 crash in 2018 – which led to the temporary grounding of the Polish MiG-29 fleet – Bslaszczak.

“This situation cannot happen again,” the minister told Defense 24.

Polish Su-22 aircraft have been in service for 35 years and have a limited role.

The two Soviet-era jets are “obsolete anymore,” Bszczak said.

The FA-50s will further modernize the Polish Air Force, but they will not be the “last step,” the defense minister said.

We have accelerated the delivery of F-35s. We plan to buy more F-35s or F-15s in the future, and we are closely watching the progress of our South Korean partners working on the KF-. 21 Borame,” Blisszczak said, referring to the new 4.5-generation multirole fighter that South Korea wants to market as a cheaper alternative to the F-35.

Konstantinos Atlamazoglou works on Atlantic and European security. He holds a master’s degree in security studies and European affairs from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. You can contact him on LinkedIn.