Poland is set to buy rocket launchers in its latest arms deal with South Korea, following shipments of tanks and howitzers, as it ramps up arms imports after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, South Korean officials said yesterday.
Poland is expected to sign a deal with Hanwha Defense, the defense unit of South Korea’s Hanwha Corp, this week to buy K239 Chunmoo multiple rocket launchers, officials said.
Under the contract, South Korea would supply 288 multiple rocket launchers worth US$6 billion, Yonhap news agency reported.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Hanwha Defense declined to confirm the details of the contract when contacted by Reuters, saying the deal had yet to be closed.
“The contract could be signed as early as this week,” an industry source said on condition of anonymity.
The expected agreement comes as South Korean companies shipped the first batch of tanks and howitzers to Poland.
The two countries signed a US$5.8 billion contract in Warsaw in July in a deal that Poland said was a key part of its effort to beef up its military following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The Feb. 24 invasion, which Russia calls a “special military operation,” has raised security fears among many former Eastern Bloc countries, and NATO member Poland has vowed to boost defense spending to 3 percent of GDP and to more than double the size of its army.
Hyundai Rotem Co said its first shipment included 10 K2 Black Panther tanks, among 180 to be delivered by 2025.
Hanwha Defense said it was sending 24 units of K9 self-propelled howitzers, among 212 to be shipped by 2026.
Poland has also agreed to buy 48 FA-50 jets from South Korea.
Polish Minister of Defense Mariusz Blaszczak said in a July media interview that the aircraft would be delivered next year.
In a market in the Chadian capital, N’Djamena, customers flock to Ache Moussa’s stall to have their long plaits smeared with a special paste in an age-old ritual. Each strand of hair, from the root to the end, is slathered in a traditional mixture of cherry seeds, cloves and chebe seeds, the most important ingredient of all. Users say the recipe makes their hair grow longer and more lustrous. Local and natural hair products are gaining popularity across Africa as people turn away from commercial cosmetics. Moussa applies the mixture and shapes the client’s locks into a gourone — a traditional hairstyle consisting of
RALLYING CRY: Former US president Donald Trump has raised suspicions about why Chinese migrants are going to the US and advocacy groups worry about his rhetoric The US Department of Homeland Security on Tuesday said that it sent 116 Chinese migrants from the US back home in the first “large charter flight” in five years. The flight, which happened over the weekend, comes as Chinese immigration has become the subject of intense political debate in the upcoming US presidential election. “We will continue to enforce our immigration laws and remove individuals without a legal basis to remain in the United States,” US Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement. The department said it was working with China to “reduce and deter irregular migration and to disrupt
‘ONE FELL SWOOP’: Overturning a landmark ruling that said judges should defer to experts would ‘cause a massive shock to the legal system,’ a dissenting opinion said Prosecutors overstepped in charging Jan. 6, 2021, rioters with obstruction for trying to prevent certification of the 2020 presidential election, the US Supreme Court said on Friday, throwing hundreds of cases into doubt, while another controversial ruling struck down 40 years of legal precedent on federal agencies’ ability to regulate critical issues. The matter was brought to the court through an appeal by former police officer Joseph Fischer, a supporter of former US president Donald Trump who entered the Capitol with hundreds of others in 2021. Writing for the majority, Chief Justice John Roberts said prosecutors’ interpretation of the law would “criminalize
The US yesterday wrapped up its first multidomain exercise with Japan and South Korea in the East China Sea, a step forward in Washington’s efforts to enhance and lock in its security partnerships with key Asian allies in the face of growing threats from North Korea and China. The three-day Freedom Edge increased the sophistication of previous exercises with simultaneous air and naval drills geared toward improving joint ballistic-missile defense, anti-submarine warfare, surveillance and other skills and capabilities. The exercise, which is expected to expand in years to come, was also intended to improve the countries’ abilities to share missile warnings —