WASHINGTON — Poland is focused on developing bilateral relations with other European nations in order to grow its domestic defense industry, according to Polish Defense Minister Antoni Macierewicz.
In a July 22 interview with Defense News while visiting Washington, Macierewicz said his government, which came to power last November, believes Poland can grow its industrial footprint by teaming up with individual nations while also focusing internally on a few key technological developments.
Internally, Macierewicz predicts growth for Poland is in unmanned systems, which he claims are "becoming a Polish specialty in Europe to produce."
That, when mixed with Poland's experience building helicopters, could produce interesting hybrids, such as an optionally manned design that Macierewicz saw first-hand during a recent visit to a factory run by PZL-Świdnik.
"I saw their new product, being a small helicopter which can be controlled by pilots, but at the same time it can be controlled without a pilot as a UAV, so this is a very interesting product," he said, adding it can be operated in a loyal-wingman configuration, whereby two helicopters fly side-by-side -- one manned and one unmanned -- with an operator controlling the drone system.
But like all defense companies in 2016, Polish firms are looking outside the nation's borders to expand sales.
Poland had at one point proposed setting up a fund to help other nations in the region buy Polish goods, but attention seems to have shifted away from that strategy and more towards working one-on-one with other nations.
"Of course, this is a very good initiative and we are interested in cooperating with partners of central Europe," Macierewicz, speaking largely through a translator, said. "However, for the time being we focus on bilateral talks."
That includes the sale to Slovakia of up to 30 Polish-made, eight-wheel-drive Rosomak armored modular vehicles, Macierewicz said. However, reports from Slovakia have thrown that sale into question.
More broadly, Poland hopes to "focus on initiatives occurring in central Europe but also initiatives especially concerning European industry, and maybe in cooperation with France or Scandinavian countries, in Scandinavia in terms of submarines," the minister said.
Macierewicz seems bullish in particular aboutn the relationship with Sweden, noting that during his visit to Washington he and Swedish Defense Minister Peter Hultqvist carved out time to chat about regional issues.
Those talks must have been successful, given that Macierewicz said Hultqvist "invited me personally to Stockholm, and by the end of September I think I will go to Stockholm to make a step forward, because this cooperation will be very beneficial for us."
That would be welcome news to Ian Brzezinski, an expert from the Atlantic Council, who writes that a Polish-Swedish military alliance would potentially add a "new and needed dimension to Europe's security structure."
"A Polish-Swedish-Baltic security pillar, supported by the United States, would deepen the transatlantic partnership and reinforce the peace in north-central Europe," he added.
Email: amehta@defensenews.com
Twitter: @AaronMehta
Aaron Mehta was deputy editor and senior Pentagon correspondent for Defense News, covering policy, strategy and acquisition at the highest levels of the Defense Department and its international partners.
