On September 3, the Casimir Pulaski Foundation, in collaboration with the National Security Industry Club, organized a seminar titled “Increased Defense Spending: An Opportunity for Polish Defense and Resilience Companies” during which key directions for the development of the domestic security sector were discussed in three expert panels.

Panel I – “Increased Defense Spending – Prospects for Business Development” – began with the release of the report “Defense and Resilience – Prospects for Business Development,” presented by Aleksander Sala. The discussion featured: Col. Michał Żołnierowicz from the Ministry of National Defense’s Department of Innovation, Małgorzata Darowska from WB Group, Artur Józefiak from Accenture, and attorney Michał Gliński, a partner at Wardyński & Partners. The experts highlighted the growing technological and organizational needs of the defense industry.

Panel II, titled “Strategic Autonomy and Collective Defense: Poland in Europe’s New Security Architecture,” featured Konrad Gołota, Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of State Assets, who emphasized the importance of Poland’s growing role in the European security system.

During Panel III, dedicated to the ORKA submarine program, Dr. Tomasz Smura presented a report on its strategic importance for the Polish Navy and the shipbuilding industry. The discussion was attended by: Lieutenant General Krzysztof Król from the General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces, Captain Tomasz Witkiewicz from the Maritime Operations Center, and Juliusz Sabak, editor-in-chief of the defense portal.

A few key takeaways from the event:

“Our vision is to invest in what we need and to develop industry in Poland. We are focusing on partnerships that involve full technology transfer and are opening up more broadly to the private sector (…). With this opportunity, we are also beginning to enter foreign markets, and on top of that, we have opened up to the private sector – on a much larger scale (…). I see the role of the Polish state-owned defense industry as that of a leader, a champion, and an integrator.” said Konrad Gołota, Minister of State Assets

“The government’s goal should be to support Polish companies not only in the domestic market but also in their international expansion. Poland can be not only a recipient of technology but also a developer and exporter of it.” – Zbigniew Pisarski, President of the Pulaski Foundation

“We encourage our industrial partners to participate in international projects and to collaborate with universities and research institutes. This enhances their potential and competitiveness.” – Col. Michał Żołnierowicz, Ministry of National Defense

“We are witnessing a record investment in the Polish defense industry, which, paradoxically, is not translating into a strengthening of the domestic supply chain (…). The state’s role is to create the conditions for the development of the Polish defense industry.” – Artur Jozefiak, Accenture

The final part of the seminar focused on the ORKA submarine program, whose strategic importance was discussed during the presentation of the report and the debate moderated by Tomasz Smura. Experts emphasized that ORKA represents not only the modernization of the Polish Navy, but also an opportunity for the development of the Polish shipbuilding industry through technology transfer and the involvement of domestic companies in the MRO process.

Tomasz Witkiewicz emphasized the effectiveness of submarines in conventional combat:

“For every billion we spend on submarine capabilities, our adversary must spend ten times that amount to have any chance of countering them.”