Summary:
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However, such agreements pale compared to the record-breaking $5.8 billion pact Poland inked with two South Korean firms in July.
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Some tank and howitzer deliveries are anticipated to start before the end of the year.
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South Korea and the US are expected to fight together in any war with North Korea or China, so South Korea’s military has been making weapons and equipment that can work with American gear for a long time.
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South Korea is also willing to let the defense companies of the countries buying the weapons participate in the production process.
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By the end of this year, Poland will start receiving the first 180 K2 tanks, and the remaining 800 will be manufactured there, at least in part.
South Korean defense companies have sold small guns and mobile howitzers to several European nations in the past five years. However, such agreements pale compared to the record-breaking $5.8 billion pact Poland inked with two South Korean firms in July. The plan included all 48 FA-50 fighter jets, 672 K9 self-propelled howitzers, and 980 K2 Black Panther tanks. Some tank and howitzer deliveries are anticipated to start before the end of the year. If all of the options were exercised in the upcoming years, the deals might be worth up to $15 billion.
Poland also decided last month to buy 288 Chunmoo multiple rocket launchers from the South Korean company Hanwha Defense instead of waiting years to get the High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems made in the United States. The first batch is scheduled to arrive in Poland in 2019.
At a signing ceremony on October 19 with his South Korean counterpart, Defense Minister Mariusz Baszczak stated that “unfortunately, due to limited industrial capabilities, it will not be possible for the equipment to be delivered in a satisfactory timeframe.” Poland had initially requested up to 500 HIMARS from the U.S. As a result, we began negotiations with South Korea, a trusted partner.
The U.S. defence industry has taken notice of the contracts because of their enormous scale and promises of quick delivery.
One industry source who works with several U.S. defense businesses and, like others in this article, asked for anonymity to discuss relations between the U.S., Europe, and South Korea said, “There is concern from U.S. industry that this won’t stop with Poland.”
The individual dismissed South Korea’s capacity for swift order fulfilment.
The insider asserted that the intention to have equipment start arriving by the end of the year is an ambitious timeline that will be challenging to maintain over the next few years. The insider stated, “This is merely a marketing campaign by South Korea.” “They haven’t demonstrated that they can supply the equipment as quickly as they claim.”
According to Haena Jo, a research analyst for defence and military at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, the Polish arrangements are anticipated to push Seoul to make trade-offs that would cost the city money. This includes prioritising military resupply above construction for Warsaw.
According to Jo, the first batch of the K2 and the K9 was delivered to Poland in a short time, indicating that the [South Korean] enterprises had the industrial capacity to meet the needs. This could only have happened because the ROK put Poland’s order ahead of modernizing its military forces, which is unusual.
South Korea and the US are expected to fight together in any war with North Korea or China, so South Korea’s military has been making weapons and equipment that can work with American gear for a long time. Because it is well-known, it is a good option for NATO countries that want to quickly and affordably get more weapons.
Another insider in the U.S. defense sector expressed less concern. The person said that the U.S. and European nations have a variety of established trade links that aren’t expected to be harmed by competition, so “buying Korean is not yet a huge problem” for the U.S.
Although U.S.-made equipment is more expensive and takes longer to arrive, American defense officials and industry executives have long acknowledged that it is generally better than weaponry produced abroad, despite these drawbacks. This is especially true of the years-long supply chain guarantees that come with contracts.
The scope of South Korea’s objectives, however, cannot be discounted.
In August, President Yoon Suk-yeol stated that he wanted to make South Korea one of the top four worldwide weapons exporters, competing with France, Russia, and the United States for international contracts. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, the country is the world’s eighth most significant supplier of defence goods, and exports have grown by 177% between 2016 and 2021.
Defense exports climbed from $3 billion in 2020 to $7 billion in 2021, according to a report published in July by the Export-Import Bank of Korea, and are predicted to reach $10 billion for the first time this year.
And more orders from Europe are anticipated.
To strengthen its defences as soon as possible, Tallinn sent its top general to Seoul at the end of September to attend the DX Korea 2022 trade show and meet with his South Korean counterpart. Estonia, along with Turkey, Poland, Finland, and Norway, has already ordered 18 K9 self-propelled howitzers from Hanwha.
Like Norway, which is thinking about buying the K2 tank, Nammo, a Norwegian ammunition maker, has a contract with Hyundai Rotem, a South Korean company, to make new 120mm rounds for the tank, whether Norway buys it or not.
Other nations hoping for a speedy turnaround may consider calling Seoul if the tanks, planes, and rocket launchers can arrive as promised rather than waiting years for the U.S. defense industry, which is currently busy with domestic orders and its own existing foreign contracts.
South Korea is also willing to let the defense companies of the countries buying the weapons participate in the production process. This gives customers “an opportunity to develop their exports in the future using the technology gained,” says Jo. By the end of this year, Poland will start receiving the first 180 K2 tanks, and the remaining 800 will be manufactured there, at least in part.
Max Bergmann, director of the European programme at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said South Korea’s defence industry and alliance unity would benefit from Europe’s shift to Seoul.
He added that more significant connections between our European and Asian friends are beneficial as the United States tries to focus more on the Indo-Pacific region. From the broader viewpoint of U.S. national security, we should recognise that Europe has a significant challenge in getting its industrial base ready to meet its domestic needs. “I could see the U.S. defense industry being somewhat concerned about the potential loss of market share,”
Many NATO members have bought a lot of weapons and equipment from the United States while putting most of their industries elsewhere. This has raised questions about the future of the European defence industrial base. Bergmann said Europe needs to get its defense manufacturing back on track because most of the continent’s defense industry has been geared toward exports instead of domestic use.
At the signing ceremony for the multibillion-dollar deal in July, Poland’s deputy prime minister and defense minister, Blaszczak, said that “given Poland’s support for Ukraine, it was important to fill the gap in the ground and air power.” In light of technology, cost, and the time of introduction, the Korean weapon system was the best option.
He claimed that the agreements were “only the beginning of the two countries partnership.”
Analysis by: Advocacy Unified Network
