Poland receives first Chunmoo MRL

Poland's first K239 Chunmoo MRL mounted on a Polish Jelcz vehicle was delivered by sea to the Port of Gdańsk, Poland, on 21 August. (Polish Armaments Agency)

Poland's first K239 Chunmoo multiple rocket launcher (MRL) mounted on a Jelcz launch vehicle was delivered by sea to the Port of Gdańsk on 21 August 2023, the Polish Armaments Agency (AA) announced on its website on the same day.

Asked for more details, Hanwha Aerospace sent Janes a press release on 23 August, originally distributed only to Polish media on 29 June, announcing that the Chunmoo had been shipped from the South Korean port of Masan – 270 km southeast of Seoul – on 20 June and would be displayed at the International Defence Industry Exhibition MSPO 2023 in Kielce, Poland, on 5–8 September. Three Jelcz vehicles arrived in South Korea in early May for initial assembly and field tests. Chunmoo launch pods were integrated into the Polish vehicle at a Hanwha Aerospace factory in Changwon. The two other Chunmoo MRLs are scheduled to stay in South Korea until the end of August to undergo mobility and firing tests.

The AA said the Chunmoo would be integrated into Poland's Topaz combat management system and undergo final testing. It expected another 17 launchers to be delivered to Poland by the end of 2023, allowing the first squadron of Homar-K MRLs to achieve basic combat readiness.