Poland closer to deal to buy South Korean fighter jets, tanks, howitzers

Poland is moving closer to clinching a megadeal to buy South Korean weapons such as fighter jets, tanks and artillery amid the ongoing Russian war on Ukraine.

In a recent visit to Seoul, Poland’s weapons procurement team showed interest in purchasing Korea’s advanced weapons systems to fill the gap left by its deliveries of fighter jets and tanks to Ukraine, according to industry officials.

Shares of Korean defense companies rallied in recent weeks as a growing number of local contractors are poised to clinch major supply deals with other nations.

With their proven military equipment, Korea’s defense makers are emerging as new growth stocks coveted by foreign investors, analysts said.

Shares of Korea Aerospace Industries Ltd. (KAI), Korea’s sole military aircraft manufacturer, rose 1.5% to 55,100 won in early Monday trade, bringing the stock’s gains over the past three months to more than 40%.

LIG Nex1 Co., a leading defense company, was down 0.1% at 76,000 won in the early Monday session, but it has risen nearly 80% over the past year.

Market watchers said expected weapons export growth is behind the strong share performance.

Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak, during his trip to KAI’s plant in Korea earlier this month, expressed his wish to buy KAI’s FA-50 light fighter aircraft, according to industry sources.

POLAND SHARES BORDERS WITH UKRAINE, RUSSIA

Poland, the NATO member that shares its borders with Ukraine as well as the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad, has sent its MiG-29 warplanes to Ukraine in support of its government.

“Poland wanted to buy Lockheed Martin’s F-16, but as global demand for the US fighter jet surges, it turned its eyes to the FA-50,” said a defense industry official.

At a June 13 meeting with Polish military leadership, Minister Blaszczak also discussed his weapons wish list, which includes Hanwha Defense Co.’s K9 self-propelled howitzer; Hyundai Rotem Co.’s K2 Black Panther, a next-generation main battle tank designed by the South Korean Agency for Defense Development; and LIG Nex1’s mid-range surface-to-air missile (M-SAM) system called Cheongung II in Korean, or heaven’s bow.

Poland is interested in buying Korea’s infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) as the weapons have already proven their technology, Minister Blaszczak was quoted as saying by multiple media outlets.

More than a dozen Polish armament officials visited the headquarters of KAI, Hyundai Rotem and LIG Nex1 earlier this month and discussed terms of weapons purchases with the Korean contractors, industry officials said.

Write to Ik-Hwan Kim and Dong-Hyun Kim at lovepen@hankyung.com
In-Soo Nam edited this article.