Poland National Defence Minister Mariusz B?aszczak has reached a framework agreement with the South Korean Government to procure 288 K239 Chunmoo launchers for the 18th Mechanized Division to serve Nato’s eastern flank. On October 19, in the presence of, Dongjoon YOO LIM, Deputy Minister of Defense for Force and Resource Management of the Republic of Korea, and Il Sung, Deputy Minister of the Defense Purchase Planning Agency, the head of the Polish Ministry of Defense approved a framework agreement for the delivery of 239 Chunmoo launchers to the Polish Armed Forces. Poland has completed negotiations with South Korea on the purchase of K239 Chunmoo multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS) developed by Hawnha Defense.
“Chunmoo, in terms of characteristics, is very similar to the HIMARS. It is an excellent weapon. I believe that the fact that the first Chunmoo sets will be delivered to Poland as early as next year is the best and most tangible achievement of the joint Polish-Korean efforts. The next success is that Chunmoos will be mounted on Jelcz trucks, built by the Polish Armaments Group. The sets will be equipped with Polish means of communication and the battlefield management system. Thanks to that, the full operability of the equipment will be achieved as early as next year, so almost immediately upon their delivery,” said Mariusz B?aszczak said.
The contract for the K239 Chunmoo, along with the South Korean defense technologies transfer,is another enhancement of the Polish Armed Forces. The cooperation could include rockets manufacturing, integration of the South Korean launchers with Polish-developed Jelcz vehicles and Topaz combat manage systems. Poland will use the Chunmoo together with the US-built HIMARS launchers already in service. On October 19, the first K2 main battle tanks and K9 155 mm self-propelled howitzers, ordered under the framework contracts of July 27, approved by Mariusz B?aszczak, were sent to Poland. Other fields of future cooperation include cooperation on infantry fighting vehicles and missile artillery, if those solutions will be ordered by Polish Armed Forces.
The K239 Chunmoo is a rocket artillery system developed in 2013 to replace the aging K136 Kooryong of the South Korean military. The K239 launcher carries two launch pods that can hold three types of rockets:
20 K33 131 mm unguided rockets, previously used on the K136 Kooryong, with a range of 36 km (22 mi) (40 total).
Six KM26A2 230 mm rockets which are based on the M26 227 mm unguided DPICM rocket used in M270 MLRS vehicles operated by the South Korean Army, with a range of 45 km (28 mi) (12 total).
Six 239 mm guided rockets with either high explosive penetration warheads, or cluster bombs with hundreds of bomblets, designed for the K239 Chunmoo with a range of 80 km (50 mi) (12 total).[5]
