On June 7, 2023, Hanwha Aerospace unveiled the HOMAR-K, the first Polish Armed Forces K239 Chunmoo Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS). This variant, specifically designed for Poland, integrates the South Korean launcher with the Polish Jelcz 8×8 truck. The launcher has undergone modifications to enable the launching of tactical ballistic missiles. The first 3 Jelcz 8×8 trucks have arrived in South Korea to have the K239 launch module and FCS fitted. 218 to be build in Korea with the remaining 70 to be build in Poland. The Polish Armed Forces are scheduled to receive a batch of Chunmoo rocket artillery with a range of 300 km in early August.
The K239 Chunmoo is a rocket artillery system developed in 2013 to replace the aging K136 Kooryong of the South Korean military. The K239 Chunmoo is a self-propelled multiple launch rocket system (MLRS) capable of firing several different guided or unguided artillery rockets. The K239 is capable of launching K33 131 mm rockets, but not 130 mm rockets (such as the K30, K37 and K38), which are used in the existing K136 Kooryong rocket artillery system. Two different types of rocket pods can be loaded at once. The rocket pod can launch six 239 mm rockets in 30 seconds and a total of 12 rockets in one minute, and it’s possible to reload two rocket pods in seven minutes.
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 300 bomblets, designed for the K239 Chunmoo with a range of 80 km (50 mi) (12 total).
Polish Armament Agency announced that the negotiations with South Korea to acquire nearly 300 K239 Chunmoo systems had been completed and the framework agreement. Poland had originally intended to procure 500 American M142 HIMARS launchers, but such an order could not be fulfilled in a satisfactory timeline, so decision was made to split the HIMARS order into two stages, buying less of them and adding Chunmoo procurement. A supply contract for 288 Chunmoo MLRS mounted on Jelcz 8×8 chassis and equipped with Polish TOPAZ Integrated Combat Management System along with 23 thousand missiles with the range of 80 and 290 kilometers was signed in Poland on October 19, 2022.
