Polish defense show lures global players amid record spending spree

WARSAW, Poland — Last October’s general election triggered a change in government in Poland, but it has not dented Warsaw’s appetite for new weapons. As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues to drive Poland’s military modernization efforts, domestic and foreign defense companies are gearing to promote their products at the upcoming MSPO show in Kielce.

Over the past years, the event, scheduled to run between Sept. 3 and 6, has established itself as a leading trade show in the region. Since February 2022, when the Russian military launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, allies along NATO’s eastern flank have replied by boosting their defense budgets. Poland has led the way, aiming to spend about PLN 160 billion (US$41.5 billion), or some 4.2 percent of the country’s GDP, on its armed forces this year.

Speaking on Aug. 15 at a military parade in Warsaw, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said his centrist government’s goal is to develop “one of the largest European militaries.”

“We must promise today to our compatriots, but also to the soldiers of the Polish Armed Forces, that we will build a most modern military … because today, innovation is power,” Tusk said during the event.

The nation’s record-high 2024 military expenditure is to be financed from the ministry’s budget, but also from the Armed Forces Support Fund, a financial instrument designed to fund purchases of new weapons and gear.

In 2025, Poland could further expand its defense budget which, if Warsaw spends the earmarked funds this year, could place Poland this year above all other NATO member states in terms of spending as a share of GDP.

In a July 4 statement, which made a thinly veiled reference to an increasingly belligerent Russia, the Polish Ministry of Defence said: “Next year, we plan to increase the budget for the military by 10 percent, which is an element of a long-term national security strategy, aiming to strengthen our armed forces in the face of the current geopolitical challenges.”

Tomasz Smura, the program director and management board member at the Warsaw-based Casimir Pulaski Foundation, told Defense News the government is continuing a number of programs launched by the previous administration, buying gear from U.S. and South Korean companies. However, there is also a noticeable intensification in activities by European groups who hope the change in power could pave the way for more contracts, he said.

“Since the change in government, Poland’s relations with Germany and France have noticeably improved, so it is natural that defense companies from these countries are demonstrating an increased interest in cooperating with Poland’s defense industry on joint projects,” Smura said. “Warsaw is planning to buy new submarines, fighter jets, but also various vehicles for the Polish land forces. This brings a number of opportunities for foreign manufacturers.”

The ministry is preparing to launch a number of acquisitions for the country’s air, naval, and land forces. Some of the potential purchases include:

• A further 32 fighter jets for the Air Force, with officials in Warsaw mulling plans to acquire more fifth-generation jets on top of the already ordered 32 F-35s. Also in the running is the Eurofighter Typhoon and Boeing’s F-15EX, according to local observers;
• New training helicopters and ship-based helos to replace the Polish Armed Forces’ outdated SW-4 Puszczyk and Kaman SH-2G Seasprite aircraft, respectively;
• More combat and surveillance unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for the military’s dedicated Drone Force, a new group within the armed forces;
• Three to four new submarines for the country’s Navy to boost its operational capacities in the Baltic Sea. Last year, the Polish ministry’s Armament Agency announced that 11 entities supplied their initial bids as part of a market consultation process. These included companies from Germany, France, Italy, Spain, South Korea, and the U.K.

Tusk’s government, which came to power in December 2023, has inked a number of major deals to buy weapons from the United States and South Korea, but also from Polish defense industry players.

Most of the large contracts this year went to U.S. manufacturers. These include the $10 billion contract to buy 96 Boeing AH-64E Apache attack helicopters from July, the $2.5 billion deal from February to acquire Northrop Grumman’s Integrated Battle Command System, or IBCS, to synchronize Poland’s air- and missile-defense weapons under development, and the $1 billion deal from May to purchase four aerostat-based early warning radar systems from the United States.

Last May, the ministry also inked an executive deal to buy 72 K239 Chunmoo multi-barreled missile launchers from South Korea’s Hanwha Aerospace for some $1.6 billion. The latter deal was widely treated as a sign that Tusk’s cabinet will keep buying weapons under the framework contracts inherited from the previous government, covering FA-50 light attack aircraft, K9 howitzers, K2 Black Panther tanks, and Chunmoo launchers.