The Polish government confirmed that it has signed a contract with the Republic of Korea Air Force for the lease of the air-to-air missile "AIM-9P Sidewinder" to enhance the aerial interception capabilities of the FA-50GF. Previously, Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) supplied 12 units of the FA-50GF to Poland in December last year. The missile lease contract will expedite the deployment of the FA-50GF in actual combat.

Paweł Bejda, the Vice Minister of National Defense of Poland, noted on his social media on the 25th (local time) that "all procedures have been completed, including the activation of the lease contract for the short-range missile AIM-9P Sidewinder with the Korean side. We are finalizing additional procedures for the purchase of FA-50 weapons, and will reveal the details soon."

FA-50GF./Courtesy of KAI

Currently, the FA-50GF is equipped only with weapons specialized for ground attacks, including the unguided general-purpose bomb Mk 82, the laser-guided bomb GBU-12, and the AGM-65 Maverick air-to-ground missile. Thus, the FA-50GF has primarily been used for pilot training.

The Polish military is seeking to equip the FA-50 series with the latest American missiles, the AIM-9X (Sidewinder, a short-range air-to-air missile) and AIM-120 (AMRAAM, an active radar-guided medium-range air-to-air missile). However, the missile manufacturer RTX requires U.S. government approval for exports, which takes time.

The Polish government needed missiles that could be used immediately until the AIM-9X is introduced and has been discussing the issue with the Republic of Korea Air Force. This contract will enable the FA-50GF to acquire aerial combat interception capabilities.

Pawel Beida, the Vice Minister of Defense of Poland, announces on the 25th (local time) that he has signed a contract for the lease of air-to-air missiles with Korea./X Capture

On the 24th, it is analyzed that a meeting between Air Force Chief of Staff Lee Young-soo and Air Force Commander Ireneusz Mikolaj Nowak at the Air Force Headquarters in Gyeryongdae was also part of the process for the contract.

Recently, the Polish military has been finalizing various weapon procurements for the rapid deployment of the FA-50GF. Poland has also completed bidding for procurement of 20mm ammunition used in F-16 and F-35 to integrate the FA-50GF into NATO air defense missions.

A Republic of Korea Air Force official said, "In accordance with Poland's request for defense equipment lending, we have signed a contract with the Polish arms agency for the AIM-9P missile after internal review and approval processes from the Korean and U.S. governments on the 24th. Since the quantities involved are those from retired fighter jets, there are no issues with the current readiness posture."

The Polish Air Force signed a contract with KAI to introduce 48 units of the FA-50 fighter jet in 2022. The future introduction of the FA-50PL (36 units) will include the AIM-9X air-to-air missile, Thales helmet-mounted display, PhantomStrike active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar, and sniper target pods.