The Polish Minister of Defence, Mariusz Błaszczak, has announced plans to double the size of its army, purchase new submarines with cruise missiles, and Swedish early warning planes. The overhaul of the Polish armed forces is projected to raise the Polish defence budget to 4% of GDP in 2023.
The use of a vertical launcher would make the proposed new Polish A26 submarine one of the most heavily armed vessels of its class in the world, with the payload of over 15 heavy torpedoes or anti-ship missiles or mines, complemented by an additional 4 munitions in the launchers, and 18 Tomahawk cruise missiles).
The new generation of submarines, announced during the Defence24 DAY conference, will have long endurance and the capability to use cruise missiles to attack land targets. Baszczak admitted it may be a challenge to build the sustainment and support model for the new submarines, but Poland has long been fleshing out its fleet, with four ex-Norwegian type 207 Kobben-class submarines commissioned between 2002-2004 joining a single Polish Kilo Class Submarine (ORP Orzel) inherited after the Warsaw Pact times.
With an increased focus on defence in Poland due to Russian full scale aggression against Ukraine since 2022, „we are conducting detailed negotiations,” Blaszczak wrote on Twitter after a meeting of defence ministers from northern Europe. “I hope they will succeed in a short time. This way we strengthen the resilience of Poland, but also of NATO’s eastern flank.”
