The acquisition of military equipment is only 30–35 percent of the full expenditure in the product life cycle. This is why the Polishization of his service, modernization and production of spare parts is so crucial – said Deputy Minister Paweł Bejda in a debate on the future of the Polish arms industry.
Defence24 Days is simply a conference on defence and safety held in Warsaw. The debates include politicians, military, experts and scientists. In the discussion on the directions of improvement of the Polish defence industry, Deputy Minister of National Defence Paweł Bejda took the floor. He stressed that MON in the selection of business partners puts a sign of equality between private and state arms. He recalled that erstwhile the Defence of the Motherland Act was created in 2022, it was his initiative that an amendment was made so that at least 50 percent of the expenditure on arms was directed to the Polish arms industry.
He assured that the promotion of Polish products is the regular task of representatives of the Ministry of Defence. – During abroad visits we talk about the fact that Polish companies should include in the supply chains and the transfer of technology – whether in the production of spare parts or with the equipment itself – he noted. He besides stressed that in the negotiations accompanying the implementation of modernisation programmes with abroad entities, MON always sets a condition concerning the flow of technology, the anticipation of servicing or production of spare parts in Poland. “This has become a standard,” he said.
It is crucial that, as Deputy Minister Bejda pointed out, the acquisition of equipment is only 30–35 percent of the full lifecycle expenditure of the product. The remainder is his later maintenance. So even if the equipment is purchased abroad, its modernization, repair, servicing and manufacturing of spare parts should be carried out in Polish plants.
The Deputy Minister stressed that it was the military who decided what he needed. The discussions are held at the meetings of the method Modernization Council, where the direction of improvement of the Polish army is discussed. “At the moment, we have tanks on the wallpaper,” he pointed out, explaining that it was K2. He said that the details of the contract with their Korean maker associated with production of K2 in Poland would shortly appear. “This is on the end,” he said. He besides said that there were heated discussions in the hotel about the dense combat infantry car or the fresh wheeled armored transporter. The decision which stands before the MON is to choose whether to start national investigation work or to scope for the imported solution and bring technology to the country.
Konrad Golota, Deputy Minister of State Assets, said that the intent of the ministry is to support the Polish state-owned arms manufacture in a fast adaptation to changing reality. This requires coordination with different ministries and additional funding. – present we are trying very rapidly to find what will be our domain, where we request to focus on the improvement of production. There is no secret, it will be Badger, explosives, Lightning and a fewer another things – he mentioned. He besides pointed to the Act on the implementation of strategical and key investments in defence needs of the state which went to the Sejm. “These provisions make the investment process very simple,” he pointed out.
Bejda emphasized that the Polish Army will be a strong Polish industry, in which the Polish Armed Forces Group has a key function to play. P.o. president of the national group Arkadiusz Bąk admitted that the sovereignty of the production of arms, ammunition and military equipment must be the basis. Pointing to the function of the PGZ-et, he described it as the widest platform to supply military equipment to the armed forces, but as he noted, the company would not be able to do anything without cooperation with the government and private industry. Piotr Wojciechowski, president of the WB Group, told him that entities specified as PGZ and WB should act as hubs that will attract smaller entities to cooperate and specialize. Then, as he estimated, the quality will be better and the price will be lower and more competitive in the abroad market.
