Ministry of National Defense
The Ministry of National Defense and Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) announced on June 21 that Minister of National Defense Shin Won Sik and DAPA Commissioner Seok Jong Geon, who are visiting Poland, visited the Minsk Mazowiecki Base with Polish Deputy Defense Minister Paweł Bejda on June 20 to check the FA-50 power plant.
According to the Ministry of National Defense, this visit was specially prepared by the Polish Ministry of Defense during the visit of the South Korean Ministry of Defense delegation to Poland. Shin and Seok received an introduction to the base situation and confirmed the support status of KAI’s FA-50.
The 12 FA-50s that were delivered early to Poland last year have been powered up, and KAI support personnel are currently providing operational support.
Bejda expressed his gratitude for the early delivery of the 12 FA-50s last year and requested Korea’s continued support for smooth operations in the future.
Shin highly evaluated the contribution of the FA-50 to the strengthening of the Polish Air Force and emphasized that he would not spare full support in the operation and maintenance phase after delivery.
DAPA announced that Seok signed a cooperation agreement for FA-50 aircraft maintenance (MRO) between KAI and WZL2 on the same day. This MRO includes cooperation on all 48 FA-50s exported to Poland by KAI, which was signed in 2022.
It is essential to secure related MRO technology to maintain a high operation rate during the life cycle of the aircraft. The lifespan of the FA-50 is known to be 30 to 40 years.
DAPA said that the signing of this cooperation agreement is a strategy to capture aftermarket demand while taking care of the post-management of the FA-50.
Seok said, “Through the signing of this FA-50 MRO agreement, we showed the solid aspect of K-defense’s A/S not only to Poland but also to potential export target countries,” and “We will gather all possible capabilities to achieve this year’s K-defense order target of $20 billion.”
The 12 FA-50s delivered early to Poland last year are the FA-50GF (Gap Filler) version, which means filling the power gap and quickly powering up due to the replacement of Poland’s old fighter jets. The remaining 36 units will be delivered sequentially from 2025 to 2028 as the FA-50PL (Poland) version with improved performance reflecting the requirements of the Polish Air Force.
The FA-50PL is expected to contribute to the enhancement of the Polish Air Force’s power through increased cruising range through air refueling function, active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar, and air-to-ground and air-to-air armament upgrades.
On the same day, the defense ministers and major defense acquisition officials of both countries planned to participate in the Korea-Poland strategic dialogue, discuss the signing of the second implementation contract for the K-2 tank within the year, and promote the domestically produced submarine for the ORKA project, which is expected to announce bidding in the second half of this year for Poland’s submarine acquisition.
Furthermore, a comprehensive business alliance between WB, Poland’s largest private defense company, and Hanwha Aerospace is expected to be signed on the same day.
Seok plans to attend the signing ceremony with Bejda.
