Polish and Korean firms sign deal to create missile factory in Poland

WB Group, one of Poland’s leading arms manufacturers, has signed a contract with South Korean defence firm Hanwha Aerospace to produce CGR-080 missiles in Poland. They are used by the K239 Chunmoo rocket artillery systems that Poland recently purchased from South Korea

The deal includes technology transfers, licensing agreements and the construction of a new factory. The facility would produce several thousand missiles annually for the HOMAR-K rocket system, as the Polish adaptation of K239 Chunmoo is known.

WB Group also signed a separate contract to provide South Korea with its Warmate 3 loitering munitions – more commonly known as suicide drones – becoming the first Polish defence firm to supply the Korean military.

Podczas wizyty w 🇰🇷 wziąłem udział w targach przemysłu obronnego KADEX oraz spotkałem się z Min. ON Republiki Korei, Kim Yong Hyunem, oraz Wiceministrem ON, Il Sungiem. Byłem także świadkiem podpisania dwóch umów przez @WBGroup_PL dotyczące systemu Warmate i pocisków Homar-K. pic.twitter.com/nuo7vh8gdz

— Paweł Bejda (@pawelbejda) October 2, 2024

The rocket missile agreement “is another step towards gaining autonomy in missile production and capabilities in the area of deterring potential aggressors”, said Poland’s defence ministry.

The missiles will be used with the Homar-K rocket artillery systems, which consist of South Korean K239 Chunmoo launchers mounted on a Polish Jelcz chassis. Poland has ordered a total of 290 such launchers so far.

The contract was signed during the visit of a Polish delegation to Korea for the KADEX defence industry fair. Polish deputy defence minister Paweł Bejda and South Korean defence minister Kim Yong-hyun also met at the event.

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“These discussions provided an opportunity to exchange views on the further development of defence and security cooperation between Poland and South Korea,” said the Polish ministry.

As well as Chunmoo launchers, Poland has in recent years also signed agreements with South Korea for 48 FA-50 light combat aircraft, 189 K2 tanks and 212 K9 self-propelled howitzers.

They are part of a defence procurement spree that has seen Poland increase its defence budget to the highest level in NATO in relation to GDP.

Poland has signed a $1.6 billion deal to acquire 72 Chunmoo rocket artillery launchers and several thousand tactical guided missiles from South Korea.

Most of the launchers will be built in Poland itself https://t.co/uygag6TBZ3

— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) April 26, 2024

During the same event, WB Group also signed a contract with Korean defence procurement agency DAPA to supply Warmate 3 loitering munitions.

“These are reliable strike systems, combat-proven during high-intensity conflict,” said the company in a statement. “WB Group is the first and, for now, only entity from Poland that will supply military equipment to the South Korean armed forces.”

The order is for ten sets with nearly 200 Warmate 3 strike systems. Warmate munitions are used by the Polish army as well as by other, unnamed NATO countries. Some have also been provided to Ukraine to support its defence against Russia’s invasion.

Poland’s government has approved a draft budget for 2025 that raises defence spending to 4.7% of GDP, increases healthcare expenditure by 16%, and funds new social programmes.

That will help create the country’s highest-ever deficit, of 289 billion zloty https://t.co/YOjt4ulNtn

— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) August 28, 2024

Main image credit: dooyeol Choi Music travel / wikimedia.com (under CC BY 3.0)

Alicja Ptak is senior editor at Notes from Poland and a multimedia journalist. She previously worked for Reuters.