President Lee Jae-myung will dispatch a delegation of defense industry corporations to Poland. The move is aimed at supporting, at the government level, the Polish navy's introduction of three new submarines under the "Orka Project." The Orka Project award result is expected around the end of this year.
According to the government and the defense industry on the 17th, the presidential office plans to send a special delegation to Poland soon. A large number of domestic defense corporations will accompany the delegation. A government official said, "Unlike the delegation formed around lawmakers from the Democratic Party of Korea in July, the government is directly taking charge of defense exports." In July, a presidential special delegation that included Rep. Park Gee-won visited Poland, and President Lee also met Polish President Karol Nawrocki in New York in the United States last month and pledged to strengthen defense cooperation.
Through the summit between the two countries and the dispatch of the special delegation, the government is expanding points of contact with Poland and boosting competitiveness in securing the order. Believing the result will come by year-end, it is stepping up government-level support. As the delegation that visited Poland in July mentioned negotiation cards such as establishing a local production base and localizing maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO), attention is on what cards this delegation will bring.
Poland is pushing to introduce three new 3,000-ton submarines at a cost of about 8 trillion won. HD Hyundai Heavy Industries and Hanwha Ocean have thrown their hats into the ring for this project and are competing for the order against corporations from France, Germany, Italy, and Sweden. Minister of National Defense Ahn Gyu-baek said at a press briefing on the 30th of last month that there is "a good chance" of winning the Orka Project.
Beyond the Orka Project, Poland is pursuing various defense projects with Korea. Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) is developing the FA-50PL (a performance-upgraded model for Poland), a multirole fighter to be supplied to Poland. Delivery has not yet taken place because the U.S. government has not yet issued export licenses for U.S.-made radar and weapons. In addition, Poland is reportedly considering introducing a Korean anti-drone system (ADS) that detects, identifies, and counters drones.
After meeting with Polish government officials, the delegation is also expected to visit domestic defense firms operating in Poland. Hyundai Rotem has begun preparatory procedures to produce the K2PL as part of the second execution contract for K2 tanks signed with Poland.