Poland turns to home-grown giant for its defense buildup

Résumé détaillé

The state-owed Polish Armaments Group is playing a key role in Poland’s rearmament drive, but it’s not without its own troubles.

WARSAW — Poland wants domestic companies to supply more of its rapidly expanding military, but state-owned PGZ’s fragmented structure and political exposure raise questions about whether Warsaw can turn the spending surge into a stronger industry.

The Polish Armaments Group, the country’s largest defense company, has won billions of złoty in new orders, placing it at the center of the military buildup.

The conglomerate was cobbled together in 2013 from about 50 fiercely independent smaller companies with their own management teams and often their own political backers. CEO Adam Leszkiewicz has been in the post since May 2025 — making him the holding company's 12th CEO since its founding.

"PGZ is different from other European companies,” Leszkiewicz said, adding that PGZ makes more than 700 products. "I could say we make almost everything. But what can be a strength can also be a weakness.”

Marek Świerczyński, a defense analyst with the Warsaw-based Polityka Insight Center for Policy Analysis, said: “He essentially has to use diplomacy to try to manage the other companies.”

For decades after the end of communism, Poland spent little on defense and the military largely made do with antiquated Soviet-era equipment. Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014 and its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 changed that, and Polish defense spending surged.

“We have strong historical and current experience with armored vehicles and maintenance, repair and overhaul services,” said Leszkiewicz. “We also make wheeled vehicles such as the Jelcz, and our work on sensors and radar is developing well. We have long been strong in rifles and pistols.”

Aleksandra Kozioł, a defense analyst with the Warsaw-based Polish Institute of International Affairs, pointed out other notable Polish defense companies, such as the private WB Group, which specializes in communications networks, unmanned aerial vehicles, loitering munitions and fire control solutions.

“We want to improve in new…

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