At a recent forum organized by the Polish military portal Defence24, Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak announced that by the end of this year his department would take over the Orka program, aiming to acquire “two or three new -sailors”. Moreover, from now on it is not excluded that these boats are nuclear.
We want our submarines to be characterized by long combat missions and a high payload in terms of portable weapons.
Blaschak said and added that he was “inspired” by the AUKUS pact, which Australia entered into to own nuclear submarines equipped with Tomahawk cruise missiles.
Currently, the Polish Armed Forces are armed with only one submarine – Orzel (“Eagle”) of the Kilo class, built in the mid-1980s at the Krasnoe Sormovo plant in the USSR for the Polish Navy. The last two German Kobben-class submarines from the 1960s purchased by Poland from Norway were finally decommissioned in 2021.
Shortly after Blaszczak’s announcement, Lt. Col. Krzysztof Platek, spokesman for the Polish Arms Agency, in an interview with the PAP news agency, clarified the role plans and opportunities for the Poland to acquire new submarines.
With regard to the Baltic Sea basin, submarines will mainly be used to protect lines of communication from the threat of enemy submarines or, for example, to prevent amphibious landings. But they can also conduct offensive operations, crippling the freedom of movement of enemy ships.
said Platek.
He also noted that long-range, long-submergence submarines could also “chase enemy ships” with torpedoes into more distant combat areas. Among other tasks that Polish submarines can perform, the transport of special forces and “all activities related to participation in NATO groupings” were also named.
Asked about the range of submarines Poland plans to acquire, Platek said:
Current plans include the latest developments in AIP (Air Independent Propulsion) systems for conventional systems. However, nuclear power plants cannot be ruled out, as such technology provides complete autonomy to the ocean. This question remains open and will be related to the financial possibilities and the final needs of the Polish Navy.
Readers of the Defense24 portal saw these plans as clearly aimed not at the defense of Poland, but at NATO operations against Russia:
Edmund: We don’t buy submarines to defend the Baltic because we can organize it differently. We buy submarines to sail in the North Sea with cruise missiles ready to be fired at targets in Russia such as the Kremlin, FSB headquarters and nuclear power plants.
Szwejk85/87: Are they crazy? ! We must conquer Moscow?! Our fleet must protect OUR interests in the Baltic Sea. The global fight over the oceans is not for our sailors and ships.
KPS1: Nuclear propulsion isn’t smart – these ships are easier to spot. Cruise missiles will significantly increase the cost, it is better to have more ships without them in order to protect our part of the Baltic, and not shoot at Moscow.
Kaczkodan: Unfortunately, I’m listening to a fairy tale, like a child telling his parents that he needs the latest graphics card for school.
Photos used: Polish Armed Forces
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