"Extremely important moment for the Air Force". Official roll-out of South Korean FA-50s for Poland

Minister Błaszczak on Wednesday took part in the official roll-out, i.e. the ceremonial departure from the KAI Factory of the first FA-50 Fighting Eagle aircraft for Poland - Polish MOD informed.

"In September last year in Mińsk Mazowiecki, Poland, I had the pleasure and honor to approve the contract for the supply of FA-50 light combat aircraft. The first units are already being delivered to Poland. This is an extremely important moment for the Air Force," Błaszczak said during the ceremony.

He added Poland was disposing of post-Soviet aircraft. "From now on, Polish combat aviation will only use F-16 and FA-50 aircraft, and soon also F-35."

"These three types come from the same family of excellent and modern aircraft. This is a great asset when building an interoperable air defense system and a unified training system. Our pilots have already completed their first FA-50 training in the Republic of Korea and will soon be ready to smoothly transition to use the new type of equipment," he explained.

The Ministers of Poland and Korea signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), under which the Joint Korean-Polish Committee (JKPC) on Cooperation in the Fields of Defense and Defense Industry will be established. After the signing of the memorandum, the first meeting of the Polish-Korean Council was held, chaired by the defense ministers of Poland and South Korea. Ultimately, the Council will consist of 6 working committees, and their main task will be to strengthen military, educational and R&D cooperation - the MOD added.

"Cooperation between Poland and South Korea is very close. We have appointed a committee, consisting of 6 teams. This is a body fashioned after similar US-Korean bodies. It is to ascertain constant contact allowing to exchange our comments on cooperation. We want follow the model of Korean-American cooperation in Polish-American cooperation as well as with our Korean partner," the minister said.

The defense ministers of both countries also observed live fire training with the use of the K239 Chunmoo rocket artillery system and the K9 self-propelled howitzer.

"We witnessed today a show of force that is very important to our whole concept of deterrence. Coordination of activities, interoperability with the American partner, these are the features that we instill in Poland. The cooperation with South Korea smoothens this process. Korean equipment is very modern and compatible with American equipment. It gives to Poland the strength, strength that deters an aggressor. We've seen how well FA-50s work together with the F-16s and F-35s. We've seen that the K2 and K9 work great with American equipment. This is what we want, this is our goal in Poland," Błaszczak stressed.