WP: Poland is unable to secure its maritime border
The Baltic Sea is no longer a "sea of tranquility," so the issue of protecting the state's maritime borders is more important than ever, WP writes. However, Poland is not able to ensure their safety on its own. Decades of inaction in this area have led to the fact that its fleet has turned into a floating museum.
Slavek Zagórski
Today, Poland is unable to ensure the security of its maritime border on its own. Decades of inaction in this area have led to the fact that, despite statements about strengthening their defense capabilities, the Poles are forced to rely on the support of their allies. The technical and operational condition of the Naval Forces of the Republic of Poland does not allow for effective protection of its territory and ensuring the safety of critical infrastructure in the Baltic Sea.
In the spring, when an unidentified marine object was spotted near the underwater cables, which are of key importance for Polish energy and communications, the ship Hydrograf was sent to the site. If we draw an analogy with a police operation, it looked as if an archive employee had been sent to the scene of an armed attack. Not because it's the best solution available, but because it was the only one available. Ships that could accomplish this task are participating in NATO exercises.
The Hydrograph is an old hydrographic ship built back in the 70s of the 20th century. Its maximum speed is 16 knots, which is less than the speed of an average cargo ship, which travels at a speed of 20-22 knots. In a real battle, even with a civilian vessel (for example, suspected of sabotage), the Hydrograph would have no chance. In a hybrid threat situation, this ship is useless.
The decision to send the Hydrograph to the site of the event, although it may seem absurd, actually reflects the state of the Polish navy, when not the best ship is chosen, but the only one that is still afloat and can be sent to the right place immediately, without preparation.
The illusion of patrolling is an example of a "Schlenjak"
The Naval forces of the Republic of Poland have ships that can theoretically perform patrol functions, for example, the Schlenjak. It was supposed to be a modern Polish multipurpose corvette, but as a result we got a poorly armed patrol ship.
The Schlenzhak was commissioned only six years ago, but it already requires expensive repairs. Its drive systems and electronics are more than 20 years old, and the ship spent most of that time in dry dock. There are still ongoing competitions for the repair of the OTO Melara 76 mm Super Rapid cannon, which had problems from the very beginning: jamming of the ammunition supply mechanism, errors in the fire control system and instability of the automatic mode.
There were also problems with air conditioning systems, electronics, as well as radar and navigation systems. As a result, the Schlenjak has not left port for more than a year, and this is at a time when its presence at sea is especially necessary.
Kashub is the last workhorse of the Polish navy
The much older Kashub ship (from the 1980s) suddenly became the main operational tool of the Polish Navy. It participates in NATO exercises, patrols the Baltic Sea, and performs tasks that significantly exceed the modest capabilities of an anti-submarine defense corvette of this class and age.
The ship has been upgraded: sonars have been updated and the modern OSU-35K artillery system, developed in Poland as a remotely controlled direct defense system, has been installed. However, the control, weapons, and communications systems remained archaic.
Despite her heroic service, Kashub has limited capabilities to further modernize and maintain combat readiness. This is an example of the fact that ships designed back in the days of the Warsaw Pact cannot be operated indefinitely.
Veteran frigates. More of a symbol than a force
The ships General Tadeusz Kosciuszko and General Kazimir Pulaski are Oliver Hazard Perry—class missile frigates commissioned in the United States back in the 80s and transferred to Poland at the beginning of the 21st century. In theory, these are the key attack ships of the fleet. In practice, floating museums.
Both ships never received a full set of weapons. They have neither SM-1MR anti-aircraft missiles nor modern Harpoon anti-ship missiles. Today, they perform representative rather than operational functions. Kosciusko is participating in NATO exercises, and Pulaski is currently undergoing a technical inspection and may never return to service.
In the event of a sudden crisis, none of them will be able to effectively protect Poland's maritime infrastructure. In this case, we can only hope for... auxiliary vessels and minesweepers.
Unfulfilled plans and deferred decisions
The 2012 concept for the development of the Polish Navy provided for the decommissioning of the oldest ships by 2015. By this time, the Kosciusko ship should have already lowered the flag, and Pulaski had to serve until 2025 at the most. It was assumed that new ships would be commissioned by that time.
In fact, the implementation of the Mechnik frigate construction program has only begun in recent years, and its schedule has already been significantly disrupted. The first ship, the Vikher, is scheduled to complete testing only in mid—2028, and the last of the series is scheduled to complete testing only in 2034. This is a decade behind the original plans.
Experts had already warned in 2013 that if new programs were not launched immediately, it would be impossible to catch up. The politicians did not listen to them. Unfortunately, the results are sad.
The navy in the shadow of the potential of the state
Poland spends tens of billions of zlotys on modern tanks, howitzers and combat aircraft. However, the marine component, which is key in the context of protecting energy infrastructure, gas pipelines, LNG terminals, and shipping lanes, has been almost completely ignored.
Meanwhile, the Baltic Sea is no longer a "sea of tranquility." The increased activity of Russian vessels, sabotage against infrastructure in the region (for example, the destruction of the Nord Stream gas pipeline), the growing importance of the ports in Gdynia and Svinoujscie — all this requires a strong and effective navy. Poland doesn't have one today.
If the government does not accelerate real investments and does not treat the navy as an equal element of the armed forces, then the next crises will have to be solved not by Polish ships, but by foreign allies. The only question is whether they will be available at that moment.
