Ensuring the security of Poland and Poles is the most important objective and priority of the Ministry of National Defence. The Polish Army is becoming one of the strongest and best-equipped armies in Europe.
Poland’s national defence potential, combined with NATO membership and excellent relations with the United States, guarantees the highest level of security. The government is strengthening Poland’s defence potential and ensuring the security of citizens by increasing the size of the Polish Armed Forces. It is also purchasing modern weaponry, and strengthening relations with allies.
The Polish Armed Forces are undergoing a qualitative and quantitative transformation. The government is expanding, strengthening, and modernising the Polish Army’s capabilities to operate in all conditions. Intensive modernisation is underway. Wherever possible, Poland is ordering modern equipment from Polish manufacturers.
New equipment for the Polish Army
The latest ordered equipment for the Polish Army are (among others):
- Patriots (air defence system),
- Narew (short-range air defence),
- Himars (highly effective long-range artillery),
- F-35 (single-seat, single-engine, all-weather stealth multirole combat aircraft),
- Abrams tanks.
What is more, concerning the short-range artillery, the army was equipped with components of Polish production. These are such as the Piorun sets, Poprad systems and Pilica artillery and missile sets, which have been excellently tested in combat conditions.
The Polish Army is consistently strengthening its capabilities with modern Korean defence technologies. Poland has concluded contracts for 1,000 K2 tanks, 672 K9 howitzers, 48 FA-50 combat aircraft and 288 K239 Chunmoo rocket launchers.
“We are buying the best Polish combat vehicles – NATO-compatible self-propelled tracked gun-howitzers Krab and self-propelled wheeled gun-mortars Rak. Soon there will be Ottokar Brzoza tank destroyers,”
we can read.
The figures speak for themselves
Parallel to intensive modernisation, the size of the Polish Army is increasing. There were 164,000 soldiers by the end of 2022. 2022 was also a record-breaking year in terms of vocations to professional military service – 13,742 soldiers. It is the highest number since the abolition of compulsory military service (so-called conscription). The long-term goal of reaching a number of at least 300,000 soldiers, including 50,000 WOT soldiers and 250,000 professional soldiers, is realistic.
Ministry of National Defence is reconstituting the units liquidated by the predecessors and creating new formations. The 18th Mechanised Division is already operational. The 1st Legion Infantry Division, however, is being formed. Its units will be located in Białystok, Kolno or Grajewo, among others.
Since 2017, Poland has been developing the fifth type of Armed Forces in Poland – the Territorial Defence Forces. The Territorials, operating under the slogan ‘Always ready, always close,’ defend and support local communities, which was particularly evident during pandemics, floods or other crises including the Polish-Belarusian border crisis.
A Cyber Defence Forces Component Command was also established in 2022, which became the basis for the Cyber Defence Forces. This formation is responsible for ensuring security in the fifth operational domain, which was identified as cyberspace at the NATO summit held in Warsaw in 2016.
A strong Poland is a safe Poland – also in the international arena
“We are strengthening Poland’s position in the international arena – an example of how these efforts were appreciated was the organisation of the 2016 summit of NATO countries in Warsaw. The decisions that were made laid the foundations for increased allied engagement in our region – it is thanks to what we initiated then that today there are more than 10,000 soldiers of allied forces in Poland, who together with our troops watch over our security,”
we can read on a governmental website.
Poland has become an important player in the international arena and actively contributes to building a global security system.
“We send our land contingents to Latvia (as part of the NATO eFP), Romania (NATO tFP) and the Central African Republic (as part of the EUTM RCA mission), air contingents to the Baltic States (Baltic Air Policing), as well as maritime contingents by assigning ships to NATO Standing Rocket Teams,”
we can read.
Poland’s attitude, policy and diplomatic actions translate into concrete decisions. It was in Poland that the US Army V Land Forces Corps Command was established. Since autumn 2020, a forward command post of this association has been operating in Poznań, coordinating the activities of US ground forces in Europe. A number of significant investments are being made as a result of the EDCA (Enhanced Defence Cooperation Agreement) signed in 2020, between the Government of the Republic of Poland and the Government of the United States of America on enhanced defence cooperation.