Poland’s military development plan, approved a year late without a current security strategy, outlines a 500,000-strong force.
Military Expansion Plan
The plan calls for 500,000 soldiers total, with 300,000 in active service and 200,000 in reserve ready for rapid mobilization. The military aims not only to be larger but also better, smarter, and more effective at deterring enemies. This comes from Poland’s General Staff.
Lack of Transparency
The plan, titled “Development Plan of the Polish Armed Forces for 2025-2039,” was prepared mainly by the General Staff and approved by the government after parliamentary endorsement just before Christmas. The approval was delayed by “only” a year from the 2024 deadline. In December, only a brief announcement was made, causing concern among specialists following the topic.
Missing Security Strategy
Poland’s current National Security Strategy dates from May 2020 – “from a completely different reality,” as analysts note. When written, Ukraine had a ceasefire, and no one realistically considered full-scale Russian aggression. Despite a new strategy being prepared for President Andrzej Duda, he left it unsigned for his successor, delaying its formal adoption.
Provisional Planning Process
Despite this, the Development Plan was approved. While formally based on outdated strategy documents, practically the new strategy and development plan were likely worked on in parallel. The previous plan (2021-35) was also approved similarly at the end of 2019 under the 2014 security strategy, showing the provisional nature of Poland’s military planning process.
