Ukraine war a huge boon for Polish defense industry — report
Poland's defense contractors are experiencing a significant boom, expanding production, upgrading technology, and receiving substantial investments due to the war in Ukraine, Polish newspaper Rzeczpospolita reported on Jan. 15.
Polish firms are increasing their manufacturing capacity to meet urgent demands. The report provides several examples, including the Lucznik arms factory in Radom, which aims to produce 100,000 rifles annually — a goal that would have been deemed “fantastical” before the war.
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The Radom plant is undergoing modernization, replacing older equipment with new machinery, and planning to expand production facilities, even though the factory is relatively new—it opened ten years ago.
Huta Stalowa Wola, known for heavy artillery like the self-propelled Krab howitzers and Rak automatic mortars, is also set to produce infantry fighting vehicles and armored personnel carriers. The company, which recently completed upgrades costing “tens of millions of zlotys” (1 zloty = $0.25), finds its investments insufficient given current demands, the newspaper writes.
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Huta Stalowa Wola CEO, Jan Szwedo, has announced plans to double industrial output in two years, with new sites and investments reaching “hundreds of millions” of zlotys.
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Shipyard modernization at Remontowa Shipbuilding and PGZ Wojenna is nearing completion, with plans to build three next-generation Swordfish multi-purpose frigates, costing PLN 15 billion ($3.75 billion). The keel for the first frigate is slated for January 2024.
Autosan, originally an electric bus manufacturer, has begun producing a new armored vehicle, the Waran.
Finally, the article says that Nitro-Chem, a leading global explosives manufacturer and the largest in Europe, is now operating “around the clock” to meet soaring demand.
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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
