Poland is continuing its program of upgrading and developing its military with the purchase of three additional Kormoran II class destroyers, the country’s Minister of Defense Mariusz Błaszczak has announced.
In a post on social media updating on the progress of the country’s defense procurement, Błaszczak revealed Poland’s desire for the deal to be finalized “in June at the latest.”
“This will allow for the maintenance of competencies and continuity of production in Polish harbors,” he added.
Once the agreement is fulfilled, the Polish navy will have six such destroyers at its disposal.
Kormoran IIs are new generation anti-mine vessels, possessing several kinds of unmanned systems on board. So far, the ships have been used for joint NATO drills.
The deal for the first Kormoran II was signed in 2013 and the ship joined the navy in 2017.
The ships are only one part of Poland’s broader program to modernize and expand its army, with two American Patriot air defense batteries also being transferred to Poland from Germany within the past week.
Deputy Minister of Defense Wojciech Skurkiewicz also revealed that an additional two Patriot batteries purchased by the Polish government will reach Poland by the end of 2022.
In addition to anti-air and anti-missile defenses, Skurkiewicz also outlined Poland’s desire to bolster its drone capacity, describing this as another crucial area for the Polish military.
He pointed out that the conflict in Ukraine had shown NATO states on its eastern flank that it is worth investing in drones, and announced Poland’s intention to add to its Bayraktar TB2 drone system purchased from Turkey in 2021.
