US and Poland advance plans for permanent military base as site selection nears

Bilateral talks on permanent deployment

On 17 September 2026, US President Donald Trump announced that negotiations with Warsaw regarding the establishment of a dedicated US Army installation in Poland had yielded substantial progress. Trump stated that the chosen site for the permanent military base will be made public in the near future following ongoing bilateral consultations. Polish President Karol Nawrocki, who visited Trump at the White House in late 2025, welcomed the announcement and stated that Polish authorities will select the optimal location for American troops. Zbigniew Bogucki, the head of the Polish presidential chancellery, noted that the announcement coincided with the 87th anniversary of the 17 September 1939 Soviet invasion of Poland.

Thanks to the bold leadership of my friend, Karol Nawrocki, President of Poland, major progress is being made toward establishing a US Army base in Poland.

Site evaluation and infrastructure costs

The bilateral negotiations follow months of preparatory coordination between defense officials from both countries. Polish Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz stated in June 2026 that the US Department of Defense was fundamentally open to establishing a permanent presence in the country. In August 2026, Polish Deputy Defense Minister Paweł Zalewski confirmed to public broadcaster TVP that negotiators had completed the initial phase of the process. In the second week of September 2026, an American military delegation visited Poland to inspect two candidate sites selected for technical evaluation. Warsaw estimates that constructing the required infrastructure for the permanent base will cost between 15 billion and 17 billion zloty (approximately 3.5 billion to 4 billion euros).

Domestic policy and eastern flank defense

Poland shares borders with Ukraine and the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, leading Warsaw to push for permanent allied deployments on NATO's eastern flank following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. Approximately 10,000 US soldiers are currently stationed in Poland, operating almost exclusively on a rotational basis. Nawrocki, who assumed the presidency in 2025 with the backing of the Law and Justice party and operates in cohabitation with Prime Minister Donald Tusk, has focused heavily on bilateral defense ties with Washington. Nawrocki previously vetoed the European Union's 44 billion euro Safe defense loan program due to concerns over European Commission oversight, preferring direct defense acquisitions from American suppliers as Poland allocates roughly 5% of its gross domestic product to defense.

We are ready to continue our efforts to strengthen our defense cooperation: seriously, responsibly and always together.

European posture review and alliance friction

The bilateral base negotiations coincide with a global force posture review by the Pentagon covering the approximately 85,000 US military personnel stationed across Europe. Washington announced in May 2026 that it will withdraw approximately 5,000 troops from Germany to press European allies to assume primary responsibility for conventional territorial defense. Tensions between Washington and several European capitals grew after multiple countries denied US forces access to NATO bases during the war against Iran. US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth warned that the United States could reduce funding to NATO unless members meet targets set at the Hague summit, which mandate reaching 5% of GDP in overall security spending and 3.5% in direct military spending by 2035.