PGZ signed cooperation agreements with Babcock, Fincantieri, and Saab on Sept 2 at MSPO 2025 in Kielce. Each document references industrial work in Poland related to the Orka submarine procurement. The government set a decision path that keeps the award inside 2025 and fixes the initial order at three submarines. Defense officials confirm the shortlist remains competitive through the final cabinet action. European proposals lead internal technical scoring while Korean bids stay active with financing and local-industry offers.
The Navy’s current undersea posture rests on a single Kilo-class boat, ORP Orzeł. The Kobben class left service in 2021. Baltic operating needs dominate the evaluation: quieting at low speeds, reliable AIP endurance, and sensors tuned for shallow, noisy water. Ministry briefings describe air-independent propulsion as a baseline and stress local sustainment to keep boats available in the late 2020s and early 2030s.
PGZ Cooperation Deals Signed at MSPO 2025
Babcock’s strategic cooperation agreement with PGZ expands an existing relationship that already covers design support and governance for three Arrowhead 140 frigates under Miecznik. The text cites joint work on build, repair, and through-life support, plus options for aircraft sustainment and strategic asset management. The company material notes a presence in Gdynia and Warsaw and uses the frigate line as the model for joint delivery.
Fincantieri signed a memorandum of understanding with PGZ the same day at MSPO. The Italian release links the agreement to Polish naval modernization with explicit mention of Orka and frames collaboration on design, construction, and lifecycle support. Company statements tie the offer to the U212 lineage now in production for the Italian Navy.
Saab’s agreement with PGZ arrived alongside broader Swedish-Polish government steps. Saab flagged cooperation in naval solutions and aligned its industrial intent with the A26 program in Karlskrona. Show reporting described these accords as defining workshare lanes in parallel to the government-to-government channel.
PGZ also signed an industrial cooperation agreement with Naval Group at MSPO. It outlines options for local participation in Scorpène construction and support, adding a European path that meets Warsaw’s recurring demand for domestic content. Industry reporting focused on advanced manufacturing in Polish yards.
The frigate program offers a benchmark for yard capacity. PGZ Stocznia Wojenna is building three Arrowhead 140-based units. Public schedules point to a launch of ORP Wicher in 2026 and phased deliveries through 2031-2032. Miecznik forced upgrades in Gdynia and hardened a supplier base for complex combat systems, which vendors now cite in Orka proposals with local construction, integration, and long-term support.
Polish-Swedish Defense Cooperation Letter of Intent
The Swedish and Polish defense ministers signed a letter of intent on Sept 2 in Kielce. The text calls for closer cooperation on defense materiel, development, innovation, and industry ties. Stockholm published the operative language and signatories. Poland’s defense ministry posted its own readout.
Officials describe the LoI as a policy umbrella for work already moving on the industry side. In practice, it opens routes for government-to-government support on technology release, export licensing, and cooperative testing. People familiar with the file say these channels matter for timely software certification and integration of strike systems Poland wants to standardize across maritime forces.
Saab’s A26 campaign benefits from that umbrella. The platform’s modular sections and payload lock align with Polish interest in special-operations access and future growth. Saab hosted Polish delegations at Karlskrona this year and used MSPO to stress industrial ties and training offers alongside the PGZ agreement. Officials in Warsaw list government-to-government assurance as a factor when they weigh near-term credibility on delivery and support.
Orka Decision Timeline and Three-Submarine Plan
On Sept 16, the prime minister said the cabinet would adopt a resolution to buy submarines by year-end, with three hulls in the opening phase. Same-day reports cited ministry briefings placing German, Italian, and Swedish proposals at the top of internal scoring, while noting continued talks with other governments. The government signaled an award timeline aligned to budget planning and to MSPO announcements that set industrial lanes for a fast start.
The ministry’s ranking-first disclosed in late spring and repeated through September-tracks Baltic priorities. Quieting at patrol speed, AIP maturity, combat-system openness, and credible build schedules weigh heavily. Procurement officials also asked vendors to detail training pipelines and show how local sustainment can hold availability through mid-life. According to industry sources, data rights and software interfaces carry more weight than in past cycles as Poland stitches submarines into a broader coastal ISR and strike network.
The Navy modeled a rotation that keeps one boat on Baltic tasks while another cycles through maintenance and the third supports training and trials. That drove the three-boat first phase. An award in 2025 with a realistic build plan pushes first patrols into the late 2020s or early 2030s, depending on the design and the depth of local construction. The calendar also lines up with pier, weapons storage, and torpedo range work that moved faster under a recent legal streamlining measure used on other projects.
Budget headroom exists for a multi-year undersea line. Public documents and official statements set 2025 defense spending near PLN 186.6 billion, about 4.7 percent of GDP, with guidance toward about 4.8-5 percent in 2026 under a draft budget and related cabinet measures. Those figures sit next to large land and air programs, so financing structure and export-credit terms inside vendor packages drew attention in Warsaw.
Vendor Field: Germany, Italy, Sweden Lead; Naval Group and Korean Bids Active
Germany’s TKMS offer aligns with the Type 212 family in service or build for neighboring fleets. Shared logistics and training with Germany and Norway create a sustainment base close to Poland’s waters. The AIP package and known certification path support early-next-decade availability. Reports from June and September consistently place Germany among the leading proposals in ministry scoring.
Italy’s Fincantieri pairs the PGZ MoU with the U212 Near Future Submarine program for its own navy. The MoU names Orka and commits to exploring design, construction, and lifecycle support with PGZ. Italian updates show U212 NFS in production, which lowers schedule risk and supports training plans Poland could access through government channels.
Sweden’s Saab fields the A26 Blekinge-class in build at Karlskrona. Saab’s PGZ agreement and the Swedish-Polish LoI provide both the industrial lane and the policy scaffold. The A26 payload lock and modularity match Polish interest in special-purpose access. Published features on acoustic discretion and growth space align with the long horizon Poland wants from the first three boats.
France’s Naval Group added an industrial cooperation accord with PGZ at MSPO, creating an avenue for Scorpène local build and support. AIP endurance, the SUBTICS combat system, F21 torpedoes, and SM39 missiles form the reference package. Reporting emphasizes supply-chain integration in Poland and potential export roles once the line is mature.
Korean bidders remain active. Hanwha Ocean introduced a sovereign-backed financing package in late June, an unusual lever here that targets cash-flow smoothing on a tight budget. Korean media and trade outlets also point to HD Hyundai Heavy Industries’ offer set, which includes the HDS-2300 concept optimized for the Baltic and a variant of KSS-III. Polish outlets during MSPO noted fresh MoUs between Korean firms and local suppliers. This financing and early training push explain why Korean proposals remain under review despite earlier European leads in technical scoring.
According to industry sources, the field is judged on more than raw performance. Export-control agility, software openness for national systems and firm commitments on Polish workshare weigh heavily. The ministry and PGZ also examine spares pipelines and depot-level repair concepts to avoid availability dips like those that have hampered legacy fleets across the region.
Babcock’s role is indirect on submarines, but matters for the process. Its PGZ agreement codifies how the two would manage complex naval programs and sustainment in Poland. With Miecznik moving toward a 2026 launch for the first frigate and defined milestones for the second and third units, the partnership offers evidence of delivery discipline. Officials engaged in Orka note this track record when they assess integration risk for combat systems and industry supervision.
Polish political signals align with the procurement track. The president used Armed Forces Day remarks in mid-August to urge execution of Orka, and the prime minister set a mid-September cabinet action to lock the purchase inside this calendar year. Public communication since then has kept three hulls as the baseline.
The operating gap at sea frames the urgency. ORP Orzeł remains the only boat in service. Navy statements last year confirmed the submarine returned to safe diving after repairs, though its age and maintenance history keep pressure on timelines. European defense press tracked the Kobben retirements in 2021 and the resulting training and availability problems. Those pieces argue for early training pipelines and incremental infrastructure to match the first three hulls rather than wait for a larger fleet.
REFERENCE SOURCES
- https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2025/09/03/babcock-fincantieri-saab-seek-poland-ties-as-orca-sub-award-nears/
- https://www.reuters.com/world/poland-will-decide-submarine-procurement-this-week-pm-says-2025-09-16/
- https://www.government.se/press-releases/2025/09/military-technical-cooperation-between-sweden-and-poland/
- https://www.government.se/swedish-treaty-series/2025/09/letter-of-intent-between-sweden-and-poland-concerning-military-technical-cooperation/
- https://www.gov.pl/web/national-defence/letter-of-intent-on-polish-swedish-cooperation-signed
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- https://www.navylookout.com/miecznik-polands-ambitious-adaptation-of-the-arrowhead-140-frigate/
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- https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/poland-wants-spend-5-gdp-defence-2026-minister-says-2025-04-03/
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- https://www.reuters.com/markets/emerging/hanwha-ocean-offers-poland-financing-deal-submarines-2025-06-27/
- https://armyrecognition.com/news/navy-news/2025/exclusive-mspo-2025-korean-hanwha-and-polish-famor-sign-strategic-mou-for-orka-submarine-local-production
- https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2024/08/hd-hhi-submarines-in-the-polands-orka-program/
- https://www.gov.pl/web/primeminister/responsible-but-generous–2025-budget-adopted
