On Thursday, August 14, 2025, the Armaments Agency announced that it had signed a contract with Mildat for the supply of 100,000 rounds of 20×102 mm ammunition for M197 (M61A2 Vulcan) aircraft cannons for the KAI FA-50GF Fighting Eagle light combat aircraft in the Block 10 configuration. The procurement process, launched on February 7 of this year, was the third attempt to acquire ammunition for the 12 Korean aircraft and was successfully concluded on June 18 of this year.
Photos: Armaments Agency
“Colonel Piotr Paluch, Deputy Head of the Armaments Agency, signed a contract today with Mildat, worth approximately 18 million PLN, for the supply of 20 mm live and training ammunition for the FA-50. Deliveries will be completed next year,” the Armaments Agency wrote on its profile on the social platform X.
“The arming of the FA-50 continues. Today, the Armaments Agency signed a contract with Mildat for the purchase of ammunition for the onboard cannon. Deliveries will be completed next year,” wrote Paweł Bejda, Secretary of State at the Ministry of National Defence responsible for overseeing the technical modernization of the Polish Armed Forces.
The contract covers the delivery of the following types of ammunition:
- HEI M56A3 combat ammunition (MIL-C-46578, NSN 1305-00-965-0560) – 50,000 rounds;
- TP M55A2 training ammunition (MIL-C-46552, NSN 1305-00-180-9268) – 50,000 rounds.
According to information obtained by MILMAG Portal, Mildat offered ammunition produced by the Turkish state-owned company MKE (Makine ve Kimya Endüstrisi).
MKE offers HEI M56A3 combat ammunition and TP M55A2 training ammunition. Both types are 168.02 mm in overall length and weigh approximately 258 g and 255 g, respectively (with the projectile itself weighing about 101 g and 100 g). The muzzle velocity is 1030 ± 15 m/s. The ammunition is loaded with ball propellant.
Photo: MILMAG Archive
The signing of the contract brings to a close the long-running saga of acquiring 20 mm ammunition for the Korean aircraft. The first tender was launched on March 1, 2023, under a restricted procedure, but was cancelled on September 26, 2023, due to a lack of bids. At that time, the contracting authority sought a supplier for 72,000 rounds of combat ammunition, 72,000 rounds of training ammunition, and 36,000 rounds of tracer ammunition. The second tender, launched on April 30, 2024, was again cancelled on October 16, 2024, for the same reason. That order called for 90,000 rounds of HEI M56A3 combat ammunition and 90,000 rounds of TP M55A2 training ammunition.
The good news is that the Korean-built aircraft will also be equipped with missile armament. On June 30 of this year, a contract worth approximately 8.5 million EUR (36.05 million PLN) was signed with the NATO Support and Procurement Organisation (NSPA) for the delivery of 24 AIM-9L Sidewinder combat missiles, as well as CATM-9L/I-1 training missiles. Until the AIM-9L missiles are delivered, the FA-50 aircraft will be armed with AIM-9P missiles leased from the Republic of Korea Armed Forces. The leasing agreement was signed on June 24, 2025.
Photo: Jakub Link-Lenczowski, MILMAG
Poland’s FA-50GF aircraft can also carry AGM-65 Maverick air-to-ground missiles, as well as several types of aerial bombs, including the 227 kg Mark 82 general-purpose bomb, the CBU-105 cluster bomb, and the Mk 20 Rockeye II (the Air Force already holds a certain stock of Maverick missiles and Mk 80-series bombs). Reports have also surfaced regarding negotiations over Korean-made guided bombs, the LIG Nex1 KGGB (Korean GPS Guided Bomb). The FA-50’s weapons payload capacity is 4.5 tons.
It should be noted that on September 16, 2022, Poland ordered 12 FA-50GF Block 10 aircraft for approximately 705 million USD net (3.36 billion PLN net / 4.14 billion PLN gross), which have already been delivered, as well as 36 FA-50PL Block 20 aircraft for 2.3 billion USD net (10.88 billion PLN net / 13.38 billion PLN gross), which were initially scheduled for delivery between 2025 and 2028 (though according to media reports, deliveries are delayed). At a later stage, the FA-50GF aircraft are to be converted to the FA-50PL standard.
Pułkownik Piotr Paluch, Zastępca Szefa #AU podpisał dziś umowę z @MildatPl, o wartości ok. 18 mln zł, na dostawę amunicji bojowej i ćwiczebnej kalibru 20 mm do FA-50. Dostawy zakończą się w przyszłym roku. pic.twitter.com/c6XIdtyvsj
— Agencja Uzbrojenia (@AgencjaUzbr) August 14, 2025
‼️Dozbrajanie FA-50 trwa. Dziś @AgencjaUzbr podpisała umowę z @MildatPl na zakup amunicji do działka pokładowego. Dostawy zakończą się w przyszłym roku.@MON_GOV_PL @Polska_Zbrojna @Defence24pl @WarNewsPL1 pic.twitter.com/ETM2zaPYc5
— Paweł Bejda (@pawelbejda) August 14, 2025
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