South Korea emerging as key arms supplier amid billion-dollar deals with Poland, Malaysia

Korea Aerospace Industries is expected to sign an executive contract this week to export 48 FA-50 aircraft to Poland for some US$3 billion

South Korean total arms exports in 2022 are likely to surpass US$10 billion, up from US$7 billion last year

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Polish President Andrzej Duda speaks with Lee Bong Keun representative of Korea Aerospace Industries Ltd stand near model of multi-role platform FA-50 nn Kielce, Poland on September 5. Photo: Reuters

Published: 8:30pm, 14 Sep 2022

South Korea is reportedly expecting to sign multibillion-dollar contracts to export its home-grown light combat aircraft to Poland and Malaysia as early as this month as the country is quickly emerging as a key player in the weapons market.

Analysts said South Korea’s fast growth in arms exports was largely thanks to its vast manufacturing industries that were ready to be used for weapons production in large quantities to cope with persistent threats from North Korea.

“South Korea is one of a few countries in the world that have arms production capacities that are able to meet the growing needs of countries in the current geopolitical turmoil,” Senior Researcher Kim Mi-jung at the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade (KIET) told This Week in Asia.

SBS TV, citing a well-informed industry source, said a representative of Korea Aerospace Industries Ltd. (KAI), the developer of the supersonic FA-50, left for Poland on Tuesday to sign a contract this week to export 48 of the aircraft for some US$3 billion.

Polish President Andrzej Duda and Defence Minister Mariusz Blaszczak speak with Lee Bong Keun, representative of Korea Aerospace Industries speak behind a Korean Fighter Aircraft model in Kielce, Poland on September 5. Photo: Reuters

The deal with Poland will be “the largest in history in terms of the exports of FA-50”, the source was quoted as saying.