Poland eyes three new vessels to boost Baltic Sea mine-hunting chops

WARSAW, Poland — With Russia’s invasion of its neighbor Ukraine accelerating a number of procurements in Poland, Warsaw plans to boost its naval capacities in the Baltic Sea through the acquisition of three new mine countermeasure vessels (MCVs) in the coming months, according to Polish National Defence Minister Mariusz Błaszczak.

“We want this contract to be signed in June, at the latest. This will allow to maintain the competences and preserve the continuity of production activities of Polish shipyards,” Błaszczak said in a tweet.

With the planned procurement, the Polish Navy is to reach a total of six modern MCVs in its fleet. To date, the defence ministry has ordered three Kormoran II-class vessels from a consortium formed by the Gdansk-based Remontowa Shipbuilding shipyard and the country’s defense giant PGZ.

The first of the three acquired MCVs, ORP Kormoran, was ordered in 2013 and commissioned four years later. A further two vessels of this class, ORP Mewa and ORP Albatros, are to undergo final tests before they will be delivered to Poland’s naval forces.

Last week, the lower chamber of the Polish parliament passed a bill that is to increase the country’s defense spending to 3 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) next year. The legislation currently awaits approval by the parliament’s upper chamber, after which it could be signed by the Polish president.

For 2022, the defense ministry’s budget is set at the level of about PLN 57.1 billion (US$13.3 billion). However, some of Poland’s military acquisitions are financed directly from the state budget.

Jaroslaw Adamowski is the Poland correspondent for Defense News.

波兰华沙——据波兰国防部长马里乌什·布瓦什恰克称，由于俄罗斯入侵邻国乌克兰，波兰加快了多项采购，华沙计划在未来几个月内通过采购三艘新的扫雷舰（MCV）来增强其在波罗的海的海军能力。

“我们希望这份合同最迟在6月份签署。这将有助于维持波兰造船厂的竞争力，并保证其生产活动的连续性。”布瓦什恰克在推特上表示。

通过此次采购计划，波兰海军将拥有六艘现代化多用途巡逻艇（MCV）。迄今为止，国防部已向由格但斯克雷蒙托瓦造船厂和波兰国防巨头PGZ组成的联合体订购了三艘“科尔莫兰II”级巡逻艇。

波兰采购的三艘多用途巡逻艇中的第一艘“科尔莫兰”号（ORP Kormoran）于2013年订购，四年后服役。同级的另外两艘“梅瓦”号（ORP Mewa）和“信天翁”号（ORP Albatros）将在交付波兰海军之前进行最终测试。

上周，波兰议会下院通过了一项法案，拟将该国明年的国防开支提高到国内生产总值（GDP）的3%。该法案目前正等待议会上院的批准，之后即可由波兰总统签署生效。

2022年，波兰国防部的预算约为571亿兹罗提（约合133亿美元）。然而，波兰的部分军事采购是由国家预算直接拨款的。

Jaroslaw Adamowski 是《防务新闻》驻波兰记者。