President Yoon Suk-yeol has declared that he seeks to make South Korea one of the world’s top four weapons suppliers, and so far, the country appears to be successfully working toward that goal, inking record sales this year thanks in large part to a $15 billion arms deal with Poland.

For wide-ranging reasons, such as its long alliance with the U.S., established industrial base, shifting Middle Eastern geopolitics and the nature of the ongoing Korean War, the ROK has earned a reputation as a reliable arms exporter and as a formidable military power in its own right.