PULASKI POLICY PAPER: The Future of the Missile Force and Artillery – Poland’s ‘Homar’ Program
Pulaski Policy Paper No 5, 2018. 29 march 2018 For over a decade, the Polish Armed Forces have been awaiting new generation multiple rocket launchers to replace the Soviet-era 9K79 Tochka missiles (NATO: SS-21 Scarab) which were decommissioned in 2005, as well as the systems that were decommissioned in the 1980s and 1990s – the 9K72 (NATO: SS-1C Scud-B) and 9K72 Luna-M launchers (NATO: Frog-7). The ‘Homar’ (Lobster) missile launchers with a range of nearly 300 km are supposed to act as a counterweight to Russia’s missile force deployed in the Kaliningrad Special Region. The first phase of the ‘Homar’ program concerns the acquisition of 56 launchers (including two for […]
ANALYSIS: The Nord Stream 2: the geopolitical dimension and possible influence of the U.S. sanctions on the project
Pulaski Policy Paper No. 3, 2018. January 29, 2018 In late November 2017 the Nord Stream 2 has been blamed by the U.S. Department of State for being Kremlin’s weapon of political blackmailing, which soon could be torpedoed by the U.S. sanctions against Russia[i]. The Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline is the new route for gas transit that Russian Gazprom and its European partners – OMV, Engie, Royal Dutch Shell, Uniper and Wintershall – plan to build through the Baltic Sea to Germany. It has been criticised for threatening energy security of Russia’s Western neighbours, in particular Ukraine and Poland. However, since recent U.S. bill on sanction in July 2017, […]
ANALYSIS: America (still) first? – assessment of the first year of Donald Trump’s presidency
Pulaski Policy Paper No 2, 19th January 2018 r. Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election was met with major reservations and a sense of apprehension coming from the experts and commentators alike, predominantly due to his lack of political prowess and experience. Trump’s views and blunt statements regarding both domestic and international affairs (such as his criticism of NATO, announcements of a possible withdrawal from multilateral trade agreements, or building a wall along the US-Mexico border) delivered in the course of his campaign, as well as murky business ties of his immediate co-workers was a cause for concern both internationally, and in the US itself. As of now, […]
ANALYSIS: The European Security Force – a step-by-step approach towards an European Army?
Pulaski Policy Paper No 23, 2017. 30 December 2017 r. A time of crisis – a time of opportunity The time for Europe to have greater ambition for its security and defence policy has come. Unsurprisingly – as with many major developments throughout the history of European integration – it appears at a moment of a prolonged political, economic and social crisis. Three curses cast a shadow on the future of the European Union project. The first curse relates to the breakdown of trust. Since the 2008 financial crisis, this collapse is seen on multitude of levels: is its visible between the governments/elites and their constituencies/populations (Brexit), on government-to-government level […]
ANALYSIS: Premises, circumstances and course of the Danish 5th generation fighter procurement programme – a valuable lesson for Poland?
Since the beginning of 2017, representatives of the Polish Ministry of Defence have several times indicated the need to replace the obsolete and worn-out legacy Soviet aircraft – Su-22 and MiG-29 – with multi-role fifth generation aircraft. The 2017 Strategic Defence Review underscored the need for acquiring new generation aircraft as a part of the “Harpia” (“Harpy”) programme. It is evident, that when planning and implementing long term, complex and expensive armament projects, the Polish authorities should make use of the experience accumulated by other European states, that have recently concluded their respective selection procedures. One might say, that the Danish combat aircraft acquisition procedure (which was concluded in mid-2016) […]
ANALYSIS: In the shadow of “Zapad 2017” – issues in Russia-Belarus relations
Between September 14th and 20th 2017 Armed Forces of the Russian Federation executed a series of military manoeuvres in a number of training grounds located in Belarus, themselves a part of the Zapad-2017 exercises. Remaining exercises were held in Russia – in Pskov, Leningrad and Kaliningrad Oblasts. Preparations for exercises lasted a couple of months, and were not accompanied by a satisfactory amount of information, giving rise to speculations, whether the Russian forces will return to their original places of dislocation once the Zapad manoeuvres are concluded. Fears, that Russian units will remain deployed in the territory of Belarus permanently were exacerbated by the recent conflict in Ukraine, as well […]
ANALYSIS: Poland’s ‘Orka’ submarine program. Part 2. The Scorpène class submarines – Naval Group
On May 18 2017, the Pulaski Foundation organized the second in a series of three seminars concerning the ‘Orka’ submarine acquisition program, dedicated to the Scorpène-class vessels. The participants had the opportunity to familiarize themselves with detailed information on the French offer, delivered by representatives of Naval Group (formerly DCNS, Direction des Constructions Navales Services). Naval Group is currently perceived as the main competitor to the German shipbuilding industry in the field of modern conventional submarines. The French Navy decided to operate only nuclear submarines, decommissioning all conventional vessels. The French shipyard industry, however, continues to develop conventional submarines, actively seeking new contracts abroad. The Scorpène-class submarines were ordered by […]
PULASKI POLICY PAPER: Poland’s ‘Orka’ submarine programme. Part 3. The A26 submarines – Swedish Offer
Pulaski Policy Paper No 8, 2018 May 11, 2018 On June 21st, 2017, the Casimir Pulaski Foundation organised the third and last seminar concerning technologies and combat capabilities of conventional submarines competing in the ‘Orka’ program, which is intended to select the next generation submarine design for the Polish Navy. The participants had an opportunity to familiarise themselves with the experience of the Swedish Royal Navy and detailed information on the Swedish offer and A26 submarine. Over the past few years, Sweden has been developing its defence and shipbuilding industry through the construction of new vessels as well as the modernisation of their older ones. The A26 submarine offered within […]