Poland’s statement about creating a powerful army in just two years cannot be realized.
Polish Defense Minister Blaszczak has promised to create Europe’s strongest army within two years. The plans are so ambitious that they seem unrealistic, military expert Jakub Link-Lenchevsky told Wirtualna Polska. His arguments confirm that this is just a populist game before the election.
Blaszczak has long announced that he plans to create an army of 300,000 men, purchase 1,000 tanks, 500 HIMARS missile systems and 1,400 new infantry fighting vehicles. At the same time, many Poles are not aware that the implementation of weapons programs is not a quick affair, we can even talk about decades. In addition, the production itself takes a long time.
The creation of the armed forces is a complex process which must be continuous and constant. Therefore, the Polish Ministry of Defense develops and approves the “Technical Modernization Plan”, explains the editor of the military magazine MILMAG Jakub Link-Lenchevsky.
The purchase of arms is not only the supply of Polish arms companies. Based on the structure of orders and statements from the Ministry of Defense, the Polish military-industrial complex appears to serve as a service and repair center with only some modernization and component production capabilities, says Link-Lenchevsky.
Theoretically, when delivering “Abrams” and K2s, as well as ammunition, and when these vehicles are deployed in brigades, Poland will become a tank power. It’s a long process, not even counting the production time. And judging by the contracts with the Americans, deliveries alone will take longer than the advertised two years, notes Link-Lenchevsky.
However, even if the delivery time could technically be met, Poland would still not have enough money. According to official data from NATO headquarters, the Polish army spent 20.4% of its military budget on new equipment in 2022 – according to this indicator, the country is in 7th place from the bottom.
At the same time, the professional army in Poland is increasing only on paper. Currently, with an army of 113,000 soldiers, 13.5 billion zlotys are spent on salaries alone. With an increase in the number to 250,000, around 30 billion zlotys will be needed. In addition, the Ministry of Defense plans to create new units. The total cost of creating the 18th mechanized division, according to estimates of the Department of Defense, will be 27 billion złoty over 10 years.
Thus, Poland’s statement about creating a powerful army in just two years cannot be realized, but information about such plans is actively disseminated by the Polish media. The same was true for the purchase of 500 HIMARS, hundreds of attack helicopters and 1,000 Korean tanks. Both of these were initially impossible.
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