Portal partners
Another stage of Ork's program. Poland and Sweden with a signed agreement
Author:Mariusz Dasiewicz
Yesterday on 17 December, a Polish-Swedish Memorandum of Understanding was signed at the headquarters of the 1st Transport Aviation Base in Warsaw. The document was signed by Deputy Prime Minister and National Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz and defence minister Pål Jonson of Sweden.
In the article
This is the first intergovernmental agreement related to the planned acquisition of new-type submarines for the Polish Navy. The signed Memorandum of Understanding opens the formal stage of government cooperation under the governance-to-government procedure. The document sets out the framework for further negotiations with Saab Kockums, including the scope of the future implementing contract, the delivery schedule and areas of training, logistics and industrial cooperation.
Cooperation framework and scope of the agreement
According to the protocol, the Polish side plans to acquire three submarines of the project A26 with training, logistics and arms package. The agreement also provides for the construction of the capacity to operate and repair ships and combat measures in Poland. The Swedish Government declared purchases in the Polish defence industry and the inclusion of domestic companies in the Swedish arms supply chains.
The designation of Sweden and Saab Kockums shipyard as the supplier of the first choice was based on the recommendation of the Task Force. Orka program, after analysing the results of the Preliminary Market Consultations and the replies to the information questionnaires. In the event of the failure of negotiations, Warsaw retains the possibility to enter into discussions with the next participating countries.
Schedule and bridge solution and submarine recovery
Training of Polish crews on submarines of Swedish production is expected to begin in 2026. In 2027, it is expected to receive a bridge unit from the Swedish Navy, which is to be a type vessel. A17S. Delivery of the first target type unit A26 The Polish Navy is scheduled for 2030. All ships are to be built in the Karlskron shipyards.
The signing of the Memorandum of Understanding is of particular importance in the context of the current situation of the Polish Navy. Today, one submarine remains in service, whose operational capabilities are limited by both the age of the unit and the lack of access to full technical facilities and weapons. The restoration of submarine capabilities for years remains one of the key challenges of the modernisation of our country's naval forces.
Questions next stage should be heard.
The agreement should be considered an important formal step, but questions that will be crucial in the course of the Ork programme are already emerging today. This next month will show to what extent political and industrial declarations will be translated into concrete binding provisions of the executive agreement.
The basic question concerns the timetable and the real recovery time for underwater capacity. According to the current announcements, the training of Polish crews is to start in 2026, while the bridge solution is to transfer a submarine type A17S which is currently in the Svenska marinan fleet. In practice, this means that for the coming years Polish Navy The Polish Republic will be based on a bridge solution whose operational significance will be limited almost exclusively to crew training. The combat value of such a solution remains insignificant, which, in conditions of the war going on behind the eastern border of Poland and the increasing hybrid activities of the Russian Federation should be of particular interest.
The war and the increasing military activity in the Baltic make it not a secondary category for the time to achieve real combat readiness of new submarines. Any delay, even formally justified, means the continuation of the fleet under conditions of significantly limited capacity.
At the same time, the risk associated with the implementation of the programme cannot be overlooked A26 on the side of Saab Kockums. The Swedish shipyard, which is to build ships intended for the Polish Navy, is currently in the order stage for Svenska marinan. The schedule of this programme has already been moved several times, where the total delay is almost nine years today. In the context of urgent needs of Polish submarine forces, the main question is whether Saab Kockums' production and organisational capacity will allow for timely execution of the order for Poland, without the risk of subsequent time transfers.
These are the issues — the real usefulness of the bridge solution, the reliability of the timetable and the moment when full combat preparedness is achieved — will soon be a test for Orka program and the path of its implementation.
Mariusz Dasiewicz – publisher of the Shipyard Portal. For more than 10 years he has been engaged in the field of the Polish Navy and shipbuilding industry. In its texts it focuses on Ork's programme and issues related to the development of maritime security of Poland, emphasising transparency of decision-making processes and fact-based analysis.
