This has been expected for years. One of the most urgent modernization programs for the Polish army is about to begin.

• Due to the scale and importance of this issue, the investment in submarines will be concluded in the form of an intergovernmental agreement, the Prime Minister said.
• The government will take responsibility for the content of this decision, the Prime Minister declared. This means that the Polish government will enter into an agreement with the government of the country where the manufacturer is located.
• So far, offers in this matter have been sent to Poland from a number of countries - including Germany, France, Italy, Sweden, Spain and South Korea, from which two companies have submitted their offers.

The Orka program, which involves acquiring new submarines for the Navy, is one of the most urgent modernization programs of the Polish Armed Forces , which is soon to be launched after a delay of more than a dozen years.

At the meeting of the Council of Ministers, the final partner will be selected and a resolution will be adopted on the purchase of submarines under the Orka program by the end of the year.

During the meeting, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that the government is currently assessing foreign offers that have been received in this matter.

Not all of them are created equal, but we rate them highly. We have plenty to choose from.

- he assured.

The Prime Minister stressed that due to the scale and importance of this issue, the investment in submarines will be concluded in the form of an intergovernmental agreement - and not, for example, in the form of an agreement between the manufacturer and the Polish Ministry of National Defense, which is typical for the purchase of military equipment.

The government will take responsibility for the content of this decision.

- declared the Prime Minister.

This means that the Polish government will enter into an agreement with the government of the country where the manufacturer selected to build submarines for Poland is located . So far, Poland has received offers from a number of countries , including Germany, France, Italy, Sweden, Spain, and South Korea, from which two companies submitted their bids.

According to signals coming from the Armaments Agency, which is responsible for purchasing equipment for the Polish Armed Forces , three of them were rated the best :

• German (ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems shipyard),
• Swedish (Saab),
• Italian (Fincantieri).

In recent months, Paweł Bejda, deputy head of the Ministry of National Defense and a delegation responsible for armaments policy , visited shipyards in these three countries.

During Tuesday's visit by Prime Minister Donald Tusk to the Central Air Force Training Ground in Ustka, the head of government announced that all offers in this matter had been examined and now the government will decide who will be our "final partner in this program."

Formally, on the agenda of the Council of Ministers, the item concerning the Orka programme is listed as information on the status of work on acquiring new-type submarines, together with a draft protocol.

The Orka program, which envisages the purchase of several—most likely three—new submarines , is one of the most important and urgent modernization programs for the Polish Navy , which currently has a single, post-Soviet and extremely outdated submarine of this type. The program has been dragging on for over a decade. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defense Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz has repeatedly assured in recent months that a decision regarding the submarine purchase will be made this year.

A total of seven companies from various countries submitted bids for the sale of ships to Poland : two from South Korea, and one each from France, Spain, Germany, Sweden, and Italy. According to signals from the Armaments Agency, which handles procurement of equipment for the Polish Armed Forces, three of them received the highest ratings: the German shipyard ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems, the Swedish shipyard Saab, and the Italian shipyard Fincantieri. In recent months, Paweł Bejda, Deputy Minister of National Defense and responsible for armaments policy, and a delegation visited shipyards in these three countries.

In June this year , Prime Minister Tusk assured that the submarines would be selected "in a very thoughtful manner" and that the government "would not yield to any pressure."

No external lobbying will have any influence on this.

- the head of government emphasized then.

The current version of the Orka program was initiated in 2023 , when the return to the program and the procedure for the purchase of submarines were announced by the then Minister of National Defense Mariusz Błaszczak.

Eleven entities submitted applications, primarily from Europe—France, Spain, Italy, Germany, and Sweden—as well as South Korea. In the following months, the Armaments Agency, which handles military equipment procurement, evaluated the submitted bids. The Ministry of Defense announced that the highest scores were awarded to bids from Germany, Sweden, and Italy (in alphabetical order), while no other bids were excluded.

Currently, Polish sailors have a single, completely obsolete submarine, the ORP "Orzeł," built in the USSR in 1985. For several years, the submarine has been in need of regular repairs, and if it were to be decommissioned from the Navy, there would be no equipment left on which submariners could train or even maintain their skills.