Poland's New Arms Strategy: Investments and Technology Transfer Instead of 'Naive' Purchases

The Polish government, represented by Deputy Minister of State Assets Konrad Gołota, announced a radical change in its approach to foreign arms corporations. The previous strategy, referred to as 'payment for security', is to be replaced by strict conditions regarding local content and the transfer of key technologies. According to the deputy minister's account to Bloomberg agency, Poland no longer wants to be just a passive recipient of ready-made solutions but aims to become an integral part of the global supply chain. It was emphasized that the mere presence of assembly lines in the country is insufficient for building technological sovereignty. Simultaneously, Deputy Minister of Defense Paweł Zalewski informed about the positive attitude of the Donald Trump administration towards the SAFE program. The United States views this EU mechanism as a tool to achieve their long-standing demand: for Europe to take on greater responsibility for conventional defense. Although the fund promotes European production, American manufacturers such as BAE Systems can benefit through their European subsidiaries and cooperation within community orders, as discussed during the recent Munich Security Conference. Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Poland has become one of the fastest-arming NATO countries, allocating record percentages of GDP to defense and becoming a key client for the U.S. and South Korean industries. In a regional context, aspirations to join European production chains are also shown by Estonia. Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur declared the desire to include Estonian companies in the production of CV90 infantry fighting vehicles. Poland, in turn, besides major purchases, promotes its own export successes, such as the Piorun anti-aircraft systems produced by Mesko plants, which are of interest to over a dozen countries. All these actions fit into the broader trend of strengthening the defense potential of NATO's eastern flank, confirmed by the visit of the SEDE committee delegation from the European Parliament to Polish arms plants. „If companies want to sell us weapons, they must invest in Poland. Until now, Poland has been a naive buyer, especially of American armaments.” — Konrad Gołota Change in arms procurement model: Basis of relationship: Purchase in exchange for security guarantees → Investments and industrial partnership; Production: Import of ready-made systems from abroad → Requirement for local content and assembly in the country; Intellectual property: Limited access to technology → Transfer of knowledge and source codes Poland: Planned expenditures in the USA: 200, Interested countries (Piorun): 15, Potential of Polish plants: 85 Liberal media emphasize the need to build European autonomy and rationalize costs through integration with the EU SAFE program. | Conservative media warn of the risk of cooling relations with the USA through too radical rhetoric about the alleged naivety of previous governments.