Poland secures further $4bn US loan guarantee for military modernisation

Poland has secured an additional $4 billion (14.5 billion zloty) loan guarantee from the United States to support the modernisation of its armed forces, defence minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz has announced.

It is the third US Foreign Military Financing (FMF) loan received by Poland since 2023. “Over the past two years, total US loan support to Poland under the FMF has exceeded $15 billion – clear evidence of the strength of our alliance,” said the US embassy in Warsaw.

“This is a historic moment for Poland. It confirms the strongest Polish-American alliance, our transatlantic relations and Poland’s status as the United States’ best friend in Europe,” said Kosiniak-Kamysz, who also serves as Poland’s deputy prime minister.

The US Department of State announced the loan guarantee in December last year. The funds will be used in part to repay contracts with US suppliers, including the multi-billion-dollar purchases of 96 AH-64E Apache attack helicopters and six Patriot air defence systems, according to the defence ministry.

“We are ready to use this money as best we can,” said Kosiniak-Kamysz. “For the modernisation of the Polish army, the development of the strongest defence capabilities in Europe, the [NATO] alliance and the protection of our borders.”

Unofficial reporting by defence outlet Defence24.pl, citing US sources, suggests the financing is linked to the planned modernisation of Poland’s fleet of F-16C/D Block 52+ fighter jets.

The US has now provided Poland with over $15 billion in FMF within the last two years, including two $2 billion loans announced in September 2023 and July 2024.

The FMF programme, overseen by the US State Department, offers loans and grants to allies and partners for the purchase of American military equipment. In April, as part of a wider aid package for Ukraine, Congress increased FMF funding for NATO allies to $6.7 billion.

Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Poland has embarked on an unprecedented military spending spree. It has increased its defence budget to 4.7% of GDP this year, by far the highest relative level in NATO.

A major portion of the defence spending has gone to US producers, with Poland signing deals for, among other things, Apache helicopters, Abrams tanks, HIMARS artillery launchers, Patriot missile defence systems, and radar reconnaissance airships.

Poland has also made large-scale purchases from South Korea, including K239 Chunmoo rocket artillery launchers, FA-50 light combat aircraft, K2 tanks, and K9 self-propelled howitzers.

In March, Poland’s outgoing President Andrzej Duda submitted a request for NATO to increase its minimum guideline for defence spending to 3% of GDP. While Duda and incoming president Karol Nawrocki view the US as Poland’s key military partner, the government also emphasises defence cooperation within the EU.

Main image credit: Ministerstwo Obrony (under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 PL)