On July 27, Poland signed one of its ever-made arms deals for more artillery, tanks and aircraft to modernize its army amid rising tensions in Europe.
Warsaw’s $14. 5 billion contract with South Korea, the largest ever made by 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 duration of the contract and Warsaw’s resolve to buy an emerging army exporter also reflect a mirror image influenced by the delicate state of European geopolitics.
“The criminal aggression carried out through the Russian Federation, Ukraine and the unpredictable nature of Putin mean that we still want to push for the modernization of the equipment,” Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Błaszczak said in an interview with Polish newspaper Defense 24.
The rapid modernization of the Polish Air Force is a precedent for Warsaw, which is looking to upgrade its 23 MiG-29s and 18 Su-22s, aging Soviet-designed multi-purpose aircraft that are difficult to maintain.
Poland already has 36 US-made F-16s. He ordered 32 U. S. F-35A stealth aircraft. The US in 2020, however, is one of the 3 NATO countries with MiG-29 and the European country still flies the Su-22.
South Korea’s 48 FA-50s will move Warsaw forward in this modernization effort.
The FA-50 is a capable soft fighter aircraft. It can succeed at supersonic speeds of Mach 1. 5 and bring a variety of air-to-air and air-to-ground bombs and missiles. Poland will get the advanced Block 20 style compatible with NATO systems, according to Błaszczak.
However, Poland chose the FA-50 only for its combat capability, but also for the speed with which it can be acquired. Warsaw also looked at other aircraft, adding F-16s, but it is possible that none will be delivered temporarily.
“It is of the utmost importance to develop degrees of security for Poland as temporarily as possible,” the Polish defense minister said. The Polish Air Force is expected to obtain the first 12 FA-50s by mid-2023.
In addition, the FA-50 is found in South Korea’s T-50 fighter and light training aircraft, which Korea Aerospace Industries developed in collaboration with Lockheed Martin, which is building the F-16.
Thus, the FA-50 stores design elements and parts with the F-16, simplifying piloting and training.
“A pilot who exercised on the FA-50 only wants a few hours to start flying the F-16 on his own,” Błaszczak told Defense 24. exercise more pilots. “
According to the contract with South Korea, an FA-50 service and maintenance facility will also be established in Poland until 2026. Through this agreement, Warsaw hopes to solve the chain and maintenance problems affecting its MiG-29 and Su-22.
“With this source, we are gaining a new direction for spare parts, which is especially for high-intensity conflicts, when one of the supply chains can be disrupted,” Błaszczak said. “This would keep the operational readiness of fighter jets in Poland at a higher level. “
Poland has upgraded its old Soviet-era aircraft several times to keep its SYSTEMS compatible with NATO, but keeping them combat-fit is a challenge, especially as the user base shrinks and sanctions against Russia restrict the availability of spare parts.
“We would want to get [spare parts] in Russia, and that, for reasons that remain obvious, will have to be excluded,” Błaszczak said, referring to tensions with Moscow.
Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa manufactures MiG-29 parts in the country and maintains polish MiG-20 and Su-22s. However, the company cannot manufacture MiG-29 engines. In addition, the locally manufactured parts were connected to a MiG-fatal. 29 turn of fate in 2018, which led to the temporary grounding of the Polish MiG-29 fleet, according to Błaszczak.
“This scenario is happening again,” the minister told Defense 24.
Polish Su-22s have also been in service for about 35 years and their function is limited.
The two Soviet-era jets “are already obsolete,” Błaszczak said.
The FA-50s will further modernize the Polish Air Force, but will be the “last attempt,” the defense minister said.
“We have accelerated the delivery of the F-35s. In the long term, we plan to get more F-35s or F-15s, and we are closely following the progress made through our South Korean partners as they paint on the KF-21 Boramae,” Błaszczak said, referring to the new 4. 5. State-of-the-art multirole fighter that South Korea hopes to market as a less expensive option than the F-35.
Constantine Atlamazoglou works in transatlantic 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 reach him on LinkedIn.