On Tuesday, General Lee Young Su, Chief of Staff of the Republic of Korea Air Force, held a bilateral meeting with Major General Ireneusz Nowak, Commander of the Polish Air Force, at the ROKAF Headquarters in Gyeryongdae.
Also present at the meeting were Lieutenant General Park Ki Wan, Vice Chief of Staff of the ROKAF; Major General Lee Tae Kyu, Director of Planning and Management; and Major General Koo Sang Mo, Director of Policy. Representing the Polish Air Force were Brigadier General Piotr Iwaszko, Commander of the 1st Tactical Air Wing, and Colonel Adam Kalinowski, Commander of the 23rd Tactical Air Base.
General Lee and Commander Nowak shared the progress of bilateral air force cooperation and reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening defense and defense industry ties between the two nations.
General Lee noted that the meeting provided an opportunity to share operational expertise on the FA-50 fighter jet and to discuss specific ways to expand bilateral personnel exchanges. He also expressed hope that the Polish delegation would experience firsthand the excellence of Korean aircraft by flying in platforms such as the TA-50 advanced trainer and the KF-21 prototype.
The Polish Air Force signed a contract with Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) in 2022 to acquire 48 FA-50 fighter jets. By the end of last year, 12 FA-50GF units had already been delivered and were in operation, with the remaining 36 FA-50PL units scheduled for phased delivery over the following year.
The Polish Air Force delegation, which arrived in South Korea on Monday, is scheduled to depart on Saturday after completing a series of engagements. On Wednesday, they visited the 1st Fighter Wing of the ROKAF to encourage Polish pilots currently training on the T-50 aircraft. On Thursday, they visited the ROK Air Force Education and Training Command, where they were briefed by Commander Lieutenant General Sohn Seok Rak on South Korea’s air force training system and discussed further opportunities for bilateral cooperation.
The delegation also visited KAI, where they joined a test pilot aboard the KF-21 prototype to experience its performance firsthand. They held discussions with Defense Acquisition Program Administration Commissioner Suk Jong Gun and KAI President Kang Goo Young on post-delivery measures for the FA-50 program and explored ways to broaden defense industry collaboration.
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