Poland Signs $6 Billion Deal for 288 Chunmoo ‘Korean HIMARS’ Rocket Artillery Systems and Ballistic Missiles

The Polish government has signed a $6 billion framework agreement for the acquisition of 288 South Korean K239 Chumoo 'Sky Dance' rocket artillery launchers and thousands of 239mm rockets and 600mm missiles. The agreement follows contracts signed in July for the acquisition of K2 tanks, K9 artillery and F-50 lightweight fighters, with Polish orders having greatly aided South Korea’s emergence in 2022 as one of the world’s leading arms exporters. Acquisitions of the Chunmoo have been motivated by the United States’ inability to provide its own equivalent system, the M142 HIMARS, in large quantities or over a suitable time period due to their more limited scale of production. The Chunmoo system by contrast can begin deliveries in 2023, and is not only considered more cost effective but also has significantly more firepower with each having approximately double the ammunition capacity of the HIMARS. Artillery and rocket artillery systems have gained a newfound importance in the eyes of several military planners due to their central role in the Russian-Ukrainian War. While the longest ranged rocket systems currently being produced in China and North Korea namely the PCL-191 and KN-25, neither are considered viable choices for NATO members for political reasons leaving South Korean products as the most sophisticated option.