Poland spends $16.5 billion in EU-backed loans on heavy army weapons

WARSAW, Poland — The Polish Ministry of National Defence has awarded contracts worth around 60 billion zloty ($16.5 billion) to buy infantry fighting vehicles, self-propelled howitzers, military vehicles, and self-propelled wheeled mortars, among other weapons, to a group of local defense companies.

The purchases will be bankrolled by the European Union’s Security Action for Europe (SAFE) low-cost loan program.

At the official signing ceremony held May 30, Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, Polish deputy prime minister and defense minister, criticized Poland’s right-wing President Karol Nawrocki for vetoing a bill that was to enable the government to utilize the Brussels loan scheme.

Nawrocki has claimed that “SAFE is a mechanism through which Brussels can withhold funding at will.” Due to his opposition to the scheme, Poland’s centrist Cabinet was forced to implement the loans through executive action.

“They say the terms are not favorable. These are twice as favorable as the first contracts signed in [South] Korea,” Kosiniak-Kamysz said, referring to the weapon acquisitions from the South Korean industry contracted by Poland’s previous government. “I was in the opposition at that time, and I wasn’t complaining about those … [acquisitions] because it was a time when it was necessary to look for markets where it was possible to buy fast.”

The ministry’s May 30 purchases include 146 Borsuk tracked infantry fighting vehicles, 96 Krab 155mm self-propelled howitzers, 1,000 ammunition, command, and communications vehicles for the Homar-K multiple rocket launcher system, and 64 Rak 120mm self-propelled wheeled mortars.

The contracts were awarded to a group of companies led by state-run defense giant PGZ, and signed at the headquarters of Huta Stalowa Wola (HSW), a PGZ subsidiary focused on the development of howitzers, infantry fighting vehicles and other gear for the land forces.

Kosiniak-Kamysz said that, in addition to procuring the necessary equipment for the Polish military, the contracts are to enable Poland’s defense industry to boost its production capacities for export sales.

“Now we have to build up the strength and potential not only for producing for our own needs, but also for exports of what is today our strategic asset,” the deputy prime minister said.

In total, Poland has been allocated some €43.7 billion ($50.9 billion) in loans by Brussels for defense acquisitions carried out under the SAFE scheme. This potentially makes the nation the largest beneficiary of the program.

Mariusz Błaszczak, Poland’s former Minister of National Defence who is a lawmaker for the opposition Law and Justice party, told Defense News that using SAFE loans to purchase weapons creates the risk of the EU’s interference in what type of equipment Warsaw will buy for the military. He also voiced concern that, by sourcing funds through the scheme, Poland could reduce its purchases from the United States and begin favoring European suppliers.

“For Law and Justice, security is not a field for political experiments. It is a matter of strategic responsibility and the consistent strengthening of the alliance with the USA and Poland’s position in NATO,” Błaszczak said.

At the same time, Kosiniak-Kamysz said that, alongside purchases from its defense industry, Poland will continue to source weapons from allied countries, including the United States.

“This doesn’t change the fact that, while there is SAFE, other deals do not disappear. We have deals with the United States for more than 200 billion zloty,” the politician said.

Also on May 30, the ministry awarded a contract worth more than 13.5 billion zloty to procure “several hundred thousand” 155mm artillery rounds from a PGZ-led consortium. Drawing lessons from the war in neighboring Ukraine, the Polish authorities have intensified efforts to build up the country’s ammunition stockpiles, but also secure domestic manufacturing capacities.

“Every single one of the hundreds of thousands of ordered shells will be produced in Poland, ensuring complete independence in the possession of this key artillery caliber. Every shell body delivered under this contract will be forged in Poland and filled at Polish facilities using Polish TNT,” Arkadiusz Bąk, PGZ’s first vice president, was quoted in a statement released by the group.

In September 2025, PGZ selected the U.K.’s BAE Systems as its technology partner for the ongoing ramp-up of local artillery ammunition production.

Jaroslaw Adamowski is the Poland correspondent for Defense News.

波兰华沙——波兰国防部已向一组当地国防公司授予价值约 600 亿兹罗提（165 亿美元）的合同，用于购买步兵战车、自行榴弹炮、军用车辆和自行轮式迫击炮等武器。

这些采购将由欧盟的“欧洲安全行动”（SAFE）低成本贷款计划提供资金。

在 5 月 30 日举行的正式签字仪式上，波兰副总理兼国防部长瓦迪斯瓦夫·科西尼亚克-卡梅什批评波兰右翼总统卡罗尔·纳沃茨基否决了一项旨在使政府能够利用布鲁塞尔贷款计划的法案。

纳沃茨基声称，“SAFE计划是布鲁塞尔可以随意扣留资金的机制”。由于他反对该计划，波兰中间派内阁被迫通过行政命令实施贷款。

“他们说这些条款并不有利。但这些条款比之前在韩国签署的第一批合同优惠两倍，”科西尼亚克-卡米什说道，他指的是波兰前政府与韩国军工企业签订的武器采购合同。“当时我是反对派，我并没有抱怨那些……（采购），因为当时必须寻找能够快速采购的市场。”

该部5月30日的采购清单包括146辆Borsuk履带式步兵战车、96门Krab 155毫米自行榴弹炮、1000辆Homar-K多管火箭炮系统的弹药、指挥和通信车辆，以及64门Rak 120毫米自行轮式迫击炮。

这些合同授予了以国营国防巨头 PGZ 为首的一组公司，并在 PGZ 的子公司 Huta Stalowa Wola (HSW) 总部签署。HSW 专注于为陆军开发榴弹炮、步兵战车和其他装备。

科西尼亚克-卡米什表示，除了为波兰军队采购必要的装备外，这些合同还将使波兰国防工业能够提高其出口销售的生产能力。

“现在我们不仅要增强自身生产能力和潜力，满足自身需求，还要出口我们今天的战略资产，”副总理说。

根据SAFE计划，波兰已从布鲁塞尔获得约437亿欧元（509亿美元）的贷款，用于国防采购。这可能使波兰成为该计划的最大受益国。

波兰前国防部长、反对党法律与公正党议员马里乌什·布瓦什恰克告诉《防务新闻》，利用SAFE贷款购买武器会增加欧盟干预华沙军方采购装备类型的风险。他还表示担忧，波兰通过该计划获得资金，可能会减少从美国的采购，转而优先选择欧洲供应商。

“对于法律与公正党而言，安全不是进行政治实验的领域。这关乎战略责任，关乎不断加强与美国的联盟以及波兰在北约中的地位，”布拉什恰克说。

与此同时，科西尼亚克-卡梅什表示，除了从本国国防工业采购外，波兰还将继续从包括美国在内的盟国采购武器。

这位政治家表示：“这并不能改变这样一个事实：即使有SAFE协议，其他协议也不会消失。我们与美国还有超过2000亿兹罗提的协议。”

5月30日，波兰国防部授予由波兰国家石油公司（PGZ）牵头的财团一份价值超过135亿兹罗提的合同，采购“数十万发”155毫米炮弹。吸取邻国乌克兰战争的教训，波兰当局加大了扩充国家弹药储备的力度，同时也致力于确保国内弹药生产能力。

“订购的数十万枚炮弹都将在波兰生产，确保波兰完全自主掌握这一关键的火炮口径。根据这份合同交付的每一枚炮弹弹体都将在波兰锻造，并在波兰的工厂使用波兰产TNT进行装填。”波兰炮兵集团（PGZ）第一副总裁阿尔卡迪乌什·巴克在集团发布的一份声明中表示。

2025 年 9 月，PGZ 选择英国 BAE 系统公司作为其技术合作伙伴，以持续提高当地炮弹产量。

Jaroslaw Adamowski 是《防务新闻》驻波兰记者。