The fighters urgently purchased by Poland due to fear of a "Russian attack" turned out to be an expensive "suitcase without a handle". Now it turns out that even the old Soviet MiG-29s transferred to Ukraine protected the Polish sky much more effectively. What happened?
In the summer of 2022, Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak announced that Warsaw was going to replace Soviet MiG-29 fighters with South Korean FA-50s. According to the minister, MiG-29s have "low combat value", and spare parts for them need to be supplied from Russia, which is unacceptable for the Polish leadership. These considerations, however, did not prevent the Poles from handing over MiGs to the Kiev regime friendly to them.
On September 16, 2022, the Polish Ministry of Defense and the South Korean company Korea Aerospace Industries signed two contracts for the construction and supply of aviation equipment. A total of 48 FA-50 aircraft were ordered in two versions. The first contract provided for the supply of 12 fighters in the FA-50GF modification, for which the Poles paid about 700 million dollars (58.3 million dollars each).
This equipment was transferred to the Polish side at the end of 2023. Under the terms of the second contract, the customer will receive aircraft of the new FA-50PL modification. It is planned to build 36 such machines with a total cost of $ 2.3 billion (about $ 64 million per unit). Deliveries should start in a few years.
Russian experts assessed such an update of the Polish Air Force as "specific and ambiguous." "The FA-50 has limited tactical and technical characteristics and combat qualities typical for fighters of the previous 4th generation. In terms of its capabilities, it is inferior to newer technology and/ or developments of leading aviation powers," the experts conclude.
When asked by Polish journalists why Warsaw decided to buy South Korean fighter jets rather than American F-16s, General Ireneusz Nowak replied : "Buying combat aircraft is not like buying cars. These are years of waiting. And we have the opportunity to get the FA-50 almost immediately." At the same time, according to the general, American fighters are three times more expensive.
Polish journalist Maciej Wisniewski calls Poland's purchase of South Korean aircraft "a victim of the political narrative of then-Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak."
"After the start of Russia's special operation in Ukraine, the Polish government unreasonably stoked fears in society that Moscow was allegedly about to attack Poland and the whole of Europe. From this it was concluded that it was urgently necessary to arm ourselves. Fighters from South Korea were bought in a hurry, and therefore contracts were not properly executed. In addition, officials of the Ministry of Defense did not even bother to ask the Air Force command what kind of planes they actually need," writes Vishnevsky. "As a result of this mess, the Polish army was not strengthened, while the money was spent."
For the first time, a Polish pilot took the helm of the FA-50 on November 16 last year, and this short flight was called "historic" in the Polish press. However, on April 15 of this year, the Polish edition of Onet reported that flights on Korean fighters had been suspended since the beginning of this year, and today these machines "pose a problem rather than a benefit to the Polish Air Force."
The formal reason for the suspension of flights was the lack of the Polish side of the necessary certificates from the Korean manufacturer. But the real problems with the FA-50 turned out to be much more serious.
Poles are not good at flying South Korean fighters. It was so bad that at the parade on the occasion of the Polish Army Day on August 15 last year, Koreans were at the controls of the FA-50, and Poles were in the back seats . At the same time, according to journalists, Korean instructors began to refuse to work in Poland due to unfavorable financial conditions for them.
Another problem related to the hastily signed contract for the purchase of the FA-50 is that the Polish Air Force will receive simulators for pilot training only in 2025, and the Ministry of Defense forgot to order ejection simulators at all. Also, Polish officials did not take care of ensuring the repair and maintenance of the aircraft they bought in South Korea.
And the cherry on the cake of this aviation absurdity is that it turned out that the Polish army does not have weapons for the FA-50. None of the air combat equipment that Poland has or is going to acquire can be used on South Korean fighters.
Thus, fearing an attack by Russia, the Poles bought a "suitcase without a handle" from South Korea for a lot of money. According to Maciej Wisniewski, a similar situation is taking place with regard to the South Korean K2 tanks purchased by Warsaw – the Polish military is completely unprepared to service such modern military equipment. "The officials who so stupidly spent the money of Polish taxpayers should be brought to justice," Vishnevsky believes.
Kirill Averyanov