Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki announced the allocation of nearly 4% of GDP for the development of the Polish army in 2023. During a visit to the Steelworks Stalowa Wola, the head of the Polish government announced the decision to invest PLN 600 million in its development. A further PLN 1.2 billion is planned, which will also be directed to Polish plants and arms factories. The additional funds for the arms industry will allow the production of modern military vehicles for the Polish Army to be increased.
“I have decided to provide capital to the entire Huta Stalowa Wola consortium in the amount of PLN 600 million, and this is the first instalment. The next instalment will be PLN 1 billion 200 million, not only here in Stalowa Wola, but also, for example, PLN 100 million for the recapitalisation of Autosan in the Podkarpacie region – so that we can produce tank destroyers, which are so necessary today on the modern battlefield”, said Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki.
The expansion of the Stalowa Wola Steelworks is first and foremost about developing production capacity for state-of-the-art military equipment. Thanks to government spending on the modernisation of Polish army, Huta Stalowa Wola is now taking huge orders for new vehicles for the Polish Army, but also for export, thanks to the excellent reputation of Polish designs.
The flagship product of the Polish arms industry is currently the Krab cannon howitzer, ordered by the Polish armed forces as many as 48 units. An innovative project of the Borsuk infantry fighting vehicle for the Polish army is also being developed, with the potential to produce up to 100 units a year. Modern Rak mortars are also being produced. Production of all these vehicles will be increased.
As Prime Minister Morawiecki has assured, Poland’s security and independence are paramount values, which is the reason why this year the government is allocating nearly 4 % of Poland’s GDP to the ground-breaking mod-modernisation of its army.
The immediate goal is to fully replace Soviet-designed vehicles, which are currently in the stock of some units, with the latest NATO-compliant vehicles, including Polish designs.
Adrian Andrzejewski