The Current State of Polish Ammunition Production

Government efforts to develop domestic ammunition production gained momentum toward the end of 2024, although the first signs of this approach were evident much earlier. What is the current state of Polish ammunition production?

Legal Regulations and Investments

In December 2024, a formal decision was made to allocate 3 billion zlotys for the construction of a domestic ammunition production facility. Of this amount, two-thirds of the funds are to come from the budget of Ministry of National Defense, while the remaining portion—1 billion zlotys—is to be financed through Treasury securities.

According to reports in the newspaper Rzeczpospolita, special teams were to be established to ensure effective oversight of investments; however, according to analysts, their efforts have not yet yielded tangible results. Experts point out that over the past three years, none of the governing teams—neither the current one nor the previous one—has taken concrete action, thereby wasting valuable time.

Does Poland manufacture ammunition?

It should be noted at the outset that this entire situation concerns the production of 155-mm ammunition—which is significantly larger than that used in handguns or even sniper rifles. Smaller-caliber rounds have been manufactured domestically for quite some time, but their importance on the modern battlefield is incomparably less than that of heavy artillery ammunition.

155 mm artillery shells

The 155 mm caliber is the NATO standard for artillery ammunition, which means that the Polish armed forces can use these shells in equipment such as South Korean self-propelled howitzers K9 or the Polish-made Krab.

As Mateusz Kacperski, an expert from the Casimir Pulaski Foundation, in an interview with the editorial staff of Puls Biznesu, the production capacity of European Union member states is not only significantly lower than Russia’s today, but may also prove insufficient to carry out operations on a scale comparable to the conflict currently underway in Ukraine.

According to the editorial staff's calculations Konkret24, as many as 10,000 shells are being fired daily on the Ukrainian front. Meanwhile, as Kacperski reports:

European Union member states produce fewer than 600,000 rounds of this ammunition annually,
The Russian Federation produces between 4 and 4.5 million missiles per year.

The expert also notes that Russia's production capacity is three times greater than the combined industrial capacity of the U.S. and Europe in this area.

What's next?

According to information MSN, in 2023, the Ministry of National Defense signed a contract for the long-term supply of ammunition with the consortium PGZ-AMUNICJA, which brings together entities within the ammunition sector of Polish Armaments Group.

On the company's website Mesko S.A. —one of the consortium members—it is stated that PGZ is also represented in this project by: Bydgoskie Zakłady Elektromechaniczne Belma S.A., Gamrat sp z o.o., Zakłady Chemiczne Nitro-Chem S.A., and Zakłady Metalowe Dezamet S.A. Under the contract, valued at approximately 11 billion zlotys, the consortium committed to delivering 300,000 155-mm artillery shells between 2024 and 2029.

In an analysis Rzeczpospolita it was noted that despite the December decision allowing the project to begin, the Polish Defense Group has not yet submitted the necessary documents to access the allocated funds. This was supposed to happen by the end of March, and, as we learned this morning— PGZ has lived up to expectations.

The submission of the grant application was confirmed on March 31 by the Minister of State Assets, Jakub Jaworowski. As reported by the website defence24, the minister will make every effort to ensure the application is processed as quickly as possible. He cites the urgent need to build factories, thereby confirming that at least several plants are to be constructed.

Despite everything, according to Rzeczpospolita , launching full-scale ammunition production will take at least three years of uninterrupted development work. That’s a long time, considering the words of the head of National Security Bureau Dariusz Łukowski, who, in an interview with Polsat News , stated that current ammunition stocks would be sufficient for the Polish Armed Forces for only two weeks of intense combat operations.

Summary

The current state of 155-mm artillery ammunition production in Poland reveals a clear disconnect between ambitious hopes and actual progress. Despite grand plans, significant financial investments, and signed contracts, the domestic defense industry is only just beginning to develop in this area, and further efforts by entities such as the Polish Defense Group, and now, above all, the Ministry of State Assets will actively create opportunities to accelerate this process.

Given the enormous demand for ammunition on today’s battlefield and limited reserves, the priority should be to immediately accelerate the implementation of these investments and translate strategic objectives into concrete actions. Otherwise, Poland may not be able to independently and sustainably meet its own defense needs in the face of a potential conflict.