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South Korea plans to grant Poland $22 bn arms purchase loan: report

03.11.2023 11:30
South Korea intends to grant Poland a USD 22 billion loan for the purchase of weapons, according to a report by the Reuters news agency.
The FA-50 Fighting Eagle is a two-person light combat aircraft produced by South Koreas Korea Aerospace Industries.
The FA-50 "Fighting Eagle" is a two-person light combat aircraft produced by South Korea's Korea Aerospace Industries.Photo: TT/@MON_GOV_PL

Poland would use the money to buy artillery systems and fighter jets, and the talks on the loan are ongoing, with the participation of five South Korean banks, Reuters reported on Friday, citing "five people familiar with the matter."

It said two officials from a South Korean defence company confirmed the syndicated loan plan.

Under agreements signed last year, Poland purchased a large amount of South Korean armaments, some of which have already arrived in the country.

Later this year, the Polish army expects to receive more K2 Black Panther tanks, K9 Thunder howitzers, and FA-50 combat aircraft from South Korea.

Meanwhile, in 2024, the first batch of 5th-generation F-35 fighters, additional Patriot missile batteries and the latest models of Abrams tanks are scheduled to arrive from the United States, alongside SAAB 340 AEW aircraft "in the radar reconnaissance version" from Sweden, according to officials.

All of these deliveries are the result of contracts concluded in recent years by Poland's defense ministry with some of the world's largest producers of modern weaponry, Polish state news agency PAP reported.

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Source: PAP, Reuters