Main article: Poland
2024
Britain has extended the deployment of its Sky Sabre air defense system in Poland
In March 2024, Britain announced that it was extending the deployment of its Sky Sabre air defense system in Poland until the end of 2024, along with 100 British troops.
Sky Sabre was first deployed in the republic in April 2022. It was supposed to end at the end of March, but will now last at least until December.
Completion of repair of a single submarine
In March 2024, the repair of the only Polish submarine ORP Orzeł, which was repaired from 2021, was completed. By December 2023, specialists completed the restoration of running equipment, periscope and mast ANIS, which cost 653 thousand euros.
The Orzeł itself was built back in 1985 and has been in operation since 1986. It is part of the Project 877 Halibut series of diesel-electric submarines and is equipped with six 533 mm torpedo tubes.
It is claimed that it is now fully operational and can carry out tasks appropriate for its intended purpose. In addition, ORP Orze can be used to monitor critical infrastructure and early warning.
At this time, the Polish Navy has 38 (according to other sources, 37) warships with an average age of more than 30 years.
The state of the Polish naval forces as a whole is not the most rosy, which was repeatedly reported to the government by military officials. Some sailors complained in the media that the fleet was literally "in the stage of partial decomposition."
Agreement on the purchase in the United States of an integrated IBCS combat control system for six Patriot PAC-3 air defense batteries and 23 Narew air defense batteries for $2.53 billion
Poland continues to actively strengthen its air defense through the acquisition of advanced US developments: at the end of February 2024, Warsaw signed an agreement on the purchase of an integrated IBCS combat control system for six previously ordered Patriot PAC-3 air defense systems and 23 Polish-British Narew air defense systems batteries.
The contract is worth $2.53 billion, and the delivery of products is scheduled for 2024-2031. It is characteristic that Poland became the first foreign buyer of this type of weapon: IBCS went into series only in 2023 and was previously supplied exclusively to the American armed forces.
2023
Defense spending - 4.3% of GDP
Contract for the purchase of 24 Polish ground-based detection radars
In December 2023, the Armament Agency of the Polish Ministry of Defense signed another major contract for the supply of military equipment for the purchase of 24 ground-based detection radars P-18PL national development. Under the agreement, they should be delivered in 2027-2035.
The deal reflects a consistent strategy by Poles to strengthen their own air defense system. The determining role in the process is played by USA providing authorities To Warsaw with access to advanced developments in this area.
So, in September 2023, an agreement was approved on the purchase by the Poles of an additional 6 batteries (48 launchers) Patriot PAC-3 + with a new integrated combat control system. The package also included 12 of the latest LTADMS radars to counter hypersonic weapons.
Moreover, the United States transferred Poland access to resources that allow them to independently produce components of command posts and individual elements of missiles. In fact, it became one of the few countries that gained access to key American air defense and missile defense technologies.
Large-scale orders of weapons from the United States pursue another goal - to minimize dependence on the Western European military industry. Especially German, which reduces the influence of Germany on the Poles.
Opening of the second American missile defense base in Europe in Redzikovo
The American base of the European missile defense system Aegis Ashore, located in Polish Redzikov, officially begins work on December 15, 2023. Until May 2024, the Navy will conduct additional improvements at the base, after which in July it will be transferred under the command and control of NATO to protect European states from threats ballistic missiles, "the sources of which are located outside the Euro-Atlantic region."
The base in Redzikovo, worth almost 850 million, dollars is located 165 km from the border. Russia The structures on it are under the strictest secrecy, but it is known that there are three vertical launch systems MK 41 VLS, each of which is equipped with eight containers with SM-3 IIA missiles (a total of 24 missiles), SPY-1D (V) radar and fire control system (FCS).
This is the second American missile defense base in Europe, the first is located in Romanian Deveselo.
Agreement with Britain on the purchase of an air defense system for $4.9 billion
In November 2023, it became known that Poland had agreed with Britain to purchase a new generation ground-based air defense system.
The transaction amount is 4.9 billion. dollars It includes 100 iLauncher anti-aircraft installations and a thousand CAMM-ER homing missiles to them.
The agreement between PGZ and MBDA was concluded as part of Poland's Narew air defense development program, which provides for the deployment of a network of ground-based air defense systems to repel air threats.
British Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said:
"This is another important step forward for our historic defense ties with Poland, as we provide a new generation of air defense capabilities that will serve as a clear deterrent to our opponents."
Earlier this year, Britain and Poland announced the first phase of a programme to supply CAMM.
Chief of the General Staff and Commander of the Operational Headquarters resigned due to conflict with Defense Minister Blashchak
In October 2023, the Chief of the General Staff of the Polish Army, General Raimund Andrzejczak, and the commander of the operational headquarters, General Tomasz Petrovsky, resigned.
According to unofficial data, the reason for the layoffs is a conflict with the Minister of National Defense Mariusz Blaschak.
In April 2023, it became known about the allegedly Russian missile that collapsed near Bydgoshch. The whole top of the Polish army was shaking then nobly: the wreckage was discovered by accident, and they fell in December 2022.
It was alleged that the military, which the unidentified flying object recorded and even tracked, then lost sight of it. It was as if a search was organized, but the weather conditions did not allow proper study of the area and it was decided to hide the incident.
But in the spring, the wreckage was found by local residents walking nearby: and Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Moravecki learned about the incident from the press.
At the same time, information appeared that Petrovsky and Andrzejczak, who were pointed out by the Minister of Defense Blaschak, would take responsibility. Then he publicly accused Petrovsky of negligence and since then ignored communication with him, and transferred the tasks directly to the general command of the Polish Armed Forces.
In addition, Petrovsky's department was ignored when the Podlyas military-operational group was created to strengthen the Polish-Belarusian border. And finally, even the general command was responsible for the evacuation of the Poles from Israel, although formally this should be dealt with promptly.
Agreement with Lockheed Martin to manufacture HIMARS MLRS in Poland
In September 2023, the Polish Defense Ministry signed a framework agreement with Lockheed Martin to create a joint production of HIMARS multiple launch rocket systems. The document provides for the transfer of technologies and orders, as well as assistance from the United States in solving problems of a logistical nature and training.
The agreement was concluded as part of the Homar-A program to update weapons for the Polish army. Its participants from the Polish side will be local companies Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa (PGZ), Huta Stalowa Wola, WZU and MESKO.
MLRS is planned to be mounted on Polish Jelcz trucks, the Poles demonstrated such a modification the other day at the MSPO-2023 arms exhibition in Kielce. The terms of the agreement provide for the assembly of 486 HIMARS in Poland with the start of deliveries in 2026.
These are just the copies whose sale the US Congress approved in February 2023. According to the defense department, together with the launchers ordered in 2019, the Polish army will have over 500 HIMARS in 28 squadrons.
The parties discussed the localization of production back in June, and at the end of August, Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak signed offset agreements with Raytheon and Lockheed Martin.
Earlier, the HIMARS Academy was opened in Poland to train European soldiers, which should give impetus to cooperation with Baltic partners - Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, who also ordered these systems from the United States.
Contracts with Raytheon and Lockheed Martin for the production and repair of mid-range Wisla missile defense systems for $250 million
Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak signed offset agreements with the American companies Raytheon and Lockheed Martin providing for the production and repair of elements for the national medium-range missile defense system Wisla.
The total value of the contract is about $250 million. In accordance with it, a production and repair base will be created in Poland for the facilities of the Wisla system, including LTAMDS Ghost Eye radars and PAC-3 MSE missiles.
The signed agreements also relate to the acquisition of additional capabilities for servicing F-16 and C-130 aircraft. In addition, Poland will receive competencies and licenses for the production of fuel for HIMARS MLRS missiles, as well as competencies related to PAC-3 MSE missiles for the Wisla system. To service these systems, a new repair and production base will be created in the country.
Offset agreements are a long-term supply contract. Offset means compensation provided by the supplier to the customer in the form of subcontracts of counter-trade or investment obligations.
In other words: Raytheon and Lockheed Martin are expected to invest some of the funds received from the contract in the Polish economy. This is likely to be realized through the construction of production plants.
First HIMARS launchers delivered to Poland
By May 2023, the first HIMARS launchers were delivered to Poland.
Earlier, the United States paid an official visit to Polish Defense Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Mariusz Blaszczak. During the trip, he held talks with the management of the plant manufacturer Lockheed Martin, which clarified the details of cooperation and investment in the Polish defense industry.
In addition, Blaszczak discussed the details of the creation of the HIMARS center in Poland, which is intended to become "a hub for the maintenance and production of installations not only for Warsaw, but also for European countries."
The first launchers, ordered back in 2019, will be transferred to the 16th mechanized division, responsible for the defense of the so-called Suvalk corridor and deployed near the border with the Kaliningrad region.
In total, Warsaw bought 20 HIMARS complexes from the United States in 2019, including 18 combat and two training complexes for $414 million. The Republic subsequently received approval from Washington to award a contract for the purchase of nearly 500 HIMARS. The maximum order value according to rough estimates will be $10 billion.
The opening of the permanent garrison of the United States
On March 21, 2023, a permanent military garrison was solemnly opened in the Polish city of Poznan. The USA official opening ceremony was attended by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense of Poland Mariusz Blaszczak and US Ambassador Mark Brzezinski.
The introduction of the American garrison is a sign that the American army plans to stay in the country long enough, which Brzezinski confirmed. He became the eighth permanent contingent of the American armed forces in Europe and the first in Poland.
The headquarters will be located on the basis of Camp Kosciuszko (Camp Kościuszko) and must provide infrastructure support and services to soldiers stationed in the republic. In addition, the tasks of the garrison include:
- leadership and management of U.S. Army forward outposts in Poland,
- coordination and oversight of U.S. ground forces in Europe,
- operational planning,
- cooperation and synchronization of US forces with troops of other NATO countries.
The unit was created as a result of the transformation of the regional support group into a garrison of the US Armed Forces after the decision announced in 2022 by President Joe Biden to ensure a permanent presence of the US military in Poland.
Earlier it became known that the first soldiers assigned to permanent service in Poland had already arrived at the advanced headquarters of The Victory Corps (V Corps) of the US Army. As of March 2023, only officially deployed in Poland 10,000 NATO soldiers, most of whom are members of the American army.
US State Department approves $150 million sale of AGM-114R2 Hellfire missiles to Poland
The US State Department in March 2023 approved the possible sale of AGM-114R2 Hellfire missiles and related equipment to Poland in the amount of $150 million.
The US Defense Cooperation Agency has submitted the required certification notifying the US Congress of a possible sale.
Poland has requested 800 AGM-114R2 Hellfire missiles and four M36 Hellfire Field Aviation Training Missiles (CATMs). The request also includes: technical assistance, spare parts, repairs, storage and other related elements of logistics and program support.
The agency indicated that the deal would meet the goals of modernizing the Polish armed forces, as well as increase interoperability with the United States and other allies.
AGM-114R2 Hellfire is an air-to-ground missile developed first to combat armored vehicles, and later for precision strikes on other types of targets, especially valuable objects. The Raketa can strike multiple targets accurately and launch from a variety of air, sea and ground platforms, including the MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper.
Deputy Prime Minister, Head of the Ministry of National Defense of Poland Mariusz Blaszczak said that the missiles will be integrated with multi-purpose AW149 helicopters. Integration will be done by PZL- Świdnik.
93% of the population supports NATO
Main article: NATO
247 Leopard tanks in service
Deal to get 116 used Abrams tanks from the US
In January 2023, the Polish government officially approved a contract worth $1.4 billion for the purchase of 116 American M1A1 Abrams tanks. In Washington, the deal was confirmed back in December 2022.
The purchase should fill the gaps in Poland's arsenal that appeared after the transfer of more than 240 T-72 tanks to Ukraine. In addition, approximately $200 million of this amount will be covered by American military assistance.
All 116 vehicles (two battalion sets) in the M1A1 FEP modification were previously in service with the US Marine Corps and are now in storage.
In addition to the tanks themselves, the delivery includes 12 armored repair and evacuation vehicles M88A2 Hercules, eight M1074 bridge builders, six command and 26 mobile workshops, as well as a training and logistics package. The Americans will also hand over 300 thousand 120-mm shells to the Poles.
Contractors will be Lockheed Martin, AAR, Allison Transmissions, BAE Systems, Heights, General Dynamics, Honeywell, L3Harris, Leonardo DRS, Palomar and US Ordnance. The total value of the contract, taking into account the entire range of equipment and services, is approximately $3.75 billion.
According to the delivery schedule, 58 Abrams Poles should receive in 2023. All other equipment is planned to be delivered by the end of 2024.
As part of another $4.75 billion deal agreed before the SVO, Poland will also purchase 250 new vehicles in the M1A2 SEP v.3 modification. They will be handed over to the Polish army in 2025-2026, although the government of the republic hopes to speed up the process.
All Abrams will go to the 1st Warsaw Armored Brigade, part of the 18th Mechanized Division. American specialists are already training the personnel of the operation of equipment at the Kosciuszko base near Poznan, where the headquarters of the 5th US Army Corps has been deployed since 2020.
The fighting in Ukraine and the help of the Armed Forces of Ukraine practically depleted the arsenals of Soviet weapons in NATO countries. Under these conditions, Washington is forced to compensate for the reserves of the armies of the states of Eastern Europe at the expense of its own funds and resources.
In December 2023, the first Abrams tanks with uranium armor and M88A2 technical support vehicles for the Center for Their Maintenance were delivered to Poland. They will be delivered in small batches over the next five years.
The transport was delivered to the defense enterprise Wojskowe Zaklady Motoryzacyjne in Poznan, part of the Polish state defense concern PGZ. There, its employees are engaged in de-processing: checking and preparing tanks for collection after sea transportation, as well as, possibly, eliminating defects if they occurred during transportation.
This was the condition for the start of the Abrams Center. The maintenance of the main battle tanks was organized in conjunction with the American company General Dynamics. The corresponding agreement between the parties was signed on June 26 during the Abrams Suppliers conference.
2022
Proposals for the United States to deploy nuclear weapons on its territory
In early April 2022, the then Deputy Prime Minister of Poland Jaroslaw Kaczynski said that the republic was open to the deployment of American nuclear weapons on its territory. At the same time, he stressed that so far this issue has not been raised specifically, since the initiative must come from the Americans.
Kaczynski later abandoned the idea, noting that it was somewhat unrealistic. Despite this, the Poles still applied to a program in which nuclear weapons belonging to the USA alliance are placed in individual countries.
In October 2022, these rumors were confirmed: the Polish government began negotiations on participation in the NATO Nuclear Sharing program. It provides not only for the deployment of nuclear weapons, but also for what participating countries can include in planning processes and exercises related to this type of weapon.
Later, however, Washington indicated that they did not intend to deploy nuclear weapons in Poland. The head of the press service of the State Department, Vedant Patel, stressed that the United States will not do this either in Poland or in other countries that joined NATO after 1997.
The transfer of about half of the tanks of the Ukrainian army during the special operation of Russia
By the beginning of 2022, the Polish ground forces had 797 armored vehicles, including:
- 249 German tanks Leopard-2 various modifications;
- 232 T-72 tanks, licensed Polish version - PT-91 Twardi;
- 316 tanks T-72 manufactured by the USSR.
With the beginning of the special operation of Russia in Ukraine, the Poles began supplying armored vehicles to Ukraine as part of the support of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
- 240 Soviet-made T-72 tanks were delivered as part of the first aid package of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
- Having practically exhausted the supply of Soviet T-72, deliveries of a modified version began - RT-91 Twardy.
Poland is the main supplier of armored vehicles for the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and the existing reserve of RT-91 will last no more than a couple of months at the current intensity of fighting. After that, it will be possible to state that the Poles lost about half of the tanks in service in someone else's war.
Even before the equipment was sent to Ukraine, the Polish authorities signed a contract with the United States for the supply of 250 Abrams M1A2 SEPv3 tanks. However, deliveries should begin no earlier than 2025. In 2022, the Americans pledged to submit only 28 Abrams for crew training.
The aid promised by Germany boiled down to a proposal to supply decommissioned equipment from the 1960s, leading to a diplomatic scandal.
The German authorities categorically refused to give modern Leopard tanks 2A7 to help Ukraine, citing the fact that even in the Bundeswehr there are only 50 such vehicles in service. As a result, the Poles not only did not receive new tanks, but also lost decommissioned German equipment.
Poland's own tank production is not developed. The Bumar-Labedy plant (part of the PGZ concern) is an idle obsolete enterprise that does not receive money from the state. In recent years, he has been specializing in small-scale repairs, the production of construction ("peaceful") equipment and the modernization of armored vehicles (mainly T-72 and German Leopard tanks). As of July 2022, the company cannot conduct a large or even average production of armored vehicles.
Having lost hope for the supply of Western equipment, the Poles decided to return to the 2020 plans for the purchase of 180 Korean K2 tanks from Hyundai Rotem and the further production of 820 K2PL tanks in Poland.
To do this, a new tank-building enterprise should actually be created from scratch on the territory of the republic. At best, its construction will take two to three years. The Polish army will be very lucky if by 2023 the Korean partners would provide a couple of dozen K2 vehicles for training personnel.
1999: Joining the NATO military bloc
In 1999, Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic, despite the promise of the Russian bloc not to expand to the East, were included in NATO.
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