An increase in defense and security spending alone does not guarantee accelerated growth for domestic companies. But with good management and strategic planning at the state level, it represents a major opportunity that Poland cannot afford to waste, according to experts from the National Security Industry Club. They argue that Poland must maximize the involvement of domestic industry in public procurement while also supporting investment in production capacity and innovation. This, they say, could secure a strong role for Poland’s defense sector at least at the regional level.
“The rise in spending primarily creates prospects for the growth of Polish defense companies. They have not yet fully benefited from this planned increase, and that is one of their main concerns,” says Zbigniew Pisarski, president of the Kazimierz Pułaski Foundation, in an interview with Newseria.
According to the Club’s report, “Defense and Resilience: Prospects for Enterprise Development”, which analyzed around 100 Polish companies, 33% of respondents from the defense industry and 40% from sectors of strategic importance to state resilience reported no noticeable benefits so far from higher defense and security spending. The authors recommend maximizing domestic firms’ share in fulfilling public contracts, particularly defense procurement. Currently, due to limited domestic capabilities, many of these orders are so-called “off-the-shelf purchases” from foreign corporations. The report argues that such acquisitions should be accompanied by technology transfer and key competencies from selected partners, which in the long run would strengthen the potential and innovativeness of Polish companies.
“If Poland fails to take advantage of this uniquely favorable climate for the defense sector, the industry might as well be wound down. I say this bluntly, but the current situation is exceptionally favorable—politically and economically. It’s now a matter of proper management, proper oversight of state-owned enterprises, and smart use of this moment by private companies. Poland should at least become a regional leader. If that doesn’t happen, it will be a measure of failure,” Pisarski warns.
Obstacles and Structural Challenges
The report also identifies key barriers holding back the development of Poland’s defense industry:
- the lack of coherent strategic planning,
- inefficient communication between government and businesses,
- the absence of effective export support tools,
- and sector fragmentation—affecting both the state-owned Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa (PGZ) and the dispersed private sector.
This fragmentation hampers effective investment, economies of scale, and the optimal use of offset obligations. As a result, Polish firms face limited competitiveness, fewer innovations, and weak integration into international supply chains.
“The PGZ, which should play a leading role, is now undergoing transformation to better compete in the European market. In the past, Poland was caught in the so-called middle-income trap: Polish firms focused mostly on the domestic market, limiting competition with regional and global players. Now is the time to move beyond Poland, join international consortia, and fight for leadership at least in Europe. Polish firms, with their innovation and world-class engineers—as proven many times in advanced technology competitions—should be among the leaders,” stresses Pisarski.
Recommendations: Strategy and Innovation
The report, published by the National Security Industry Club (established by the Pułaski Foundation), outlines recommendations to overcome identified barriers. One key proposal is a multi-year strategy that would align armed forces modernization, national resilience, and economic goals with a roadmap for developing both state-owned and private defense companies.
A central component of such a strategy could be the establishment of a defense innovation agency to coordinate projects and funding. Similar institutions operate successfully in South Korea and the United States.
Given today’s geopolitical realities, experts stress the need to create long-term conditions in Poland for industrial and technological development to meet the needs of the Armed Forces and other projects critical to national security. 42% of surveyed companies believe that achieving the capability to independently develop and produce advanced weapons systems in Poland would take at least seven years. Longer term, the domestic industry should serve as a pillar of an innovative economy.
Experts also emphasize that this will not be possible without state support, given Poland’s much lower investment in R&D (1.56% of GDP vs. around 3% for EU leaders). In addition, investments in modern technologies are essential—not only to address demographic challenges facing the industry but also to enable effective competition with global corporations. The authors note that Poland’s defense and security sector still does not fully utilize the potential of advanced technologies.
“There is certainly a lack of coordination and systemic support for promoting Polish defense companies internationally. Domestically, thanks to their political and economic weight, these firms manage well enough. But abroad, they often lack visibility—and here state support is essential,” concludes Pisarski.
