Polish General Warns Europe Caught in ‘Catch-22’ Over U.S. Arms Delays, Turns to South Korea

WASHINGTON — European nations are confronting a “Catch-22” regarding the purchase of American weaponry, Poland’s top military envoy to NATO warned Wednesday.

Lt. Gen. Piotr Błazeusz, Poland’s military representative to the alliance, said the United States is pressuring European capitals to increase defense spending. Yet when those nations attempt to procure systems from Washington, they face delivery timelines that are excessively long and uncertain.

“When they come to the U.S. and say, ‘We would like to buy the system’ … they are told, ‘Okay, but [it will be delivered in] 2029-2030 and, you know, it still could be delayed,'” the three-star general said during a Center for the Study of the Presidency & Congress luncheon.

The consequence, Błazeusz explained, is that European buyers then survey the broader market — whether domestic or foreign — for alternatives. They are increasingly bypassing the “gold-plated” solutions U.S. firms specialize in, opting instead for “good enough” capabilities that are more affordable and available sooner.

“It’s a tricky business,” he added. “In our case, we strongly believe in U.S. equipment; it’s easy to integrate with. But the long delivery timelines and limited ability to locally maintain, repair, and overhaul equipment have led Poland to alternative providers.”

The most prominent example is Warsaw’s deepening partnership with Seoul. South Korean firms have become the backbone of Poland’s modernization drive in recent years.

Between 2022 and 2025, Poland announced arms agreements worth $16 billion with South Korean companies. The deals cover hundreds of tanks, artillery systems, and light-attack aircraft. In August 2025, Warsaw finalized a $6.5 billion contract with Hyundai Rotem for 180 K2 tanks slated for delivery between 2026 and 2030 — a follow-on to an initial 2022 order for 180 tanks. The 2025 agreement also includes support vehicles built on the K2 chassis, 31 armored recovery vehicles, 25 engineering vehicles, and 25 assault bridge systems.

“We went Korean … and the reason was that only the Korean defense industry was able to deliver on such short notice what we needed,” Błazeusz said.

“Obviously we were asking around everywhere, including the U.S., but unfortunately the delivery dates were rather distant, so we really had to get something here and now,” he added, noting that South Korea is actively establishing critical maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) hubs inside Europe to support local sustainment.

Błazeusz’s remarks come as the Trump administration overhauls its Foreign Military Sales (FMS) and Foreign Military Financing (FMF) processes. Allies have been quietly notified that weapons orders are delayed due to U.S. operations against Iran and political friction with NATO partners.

In recent weeks, multiple allies and partners have been informed that expected U.S. weapons deliveries are being slowed as Washington prioritizes replenishing its own stockpiles.

While several analysts told Breaking Defense there is no indication yet of a major shift away from buying American, they acknowledge that pushing allies to the back of the queue fits a broader pattern of concern surrounding U.S. arms sales that could drive countries to explore alternatives.

“What we’re going to see is the inevitable tension between the administration’s stated desire to have our allies buy American and buy more … and likewise the need to put ourselves first to replenish stockpiles,” said Tom Karako, a missile defense expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

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