NewsPoland's $30bn military spree: US arms industry sees boom as Warsaw becomes top buyer

Poland's $30bn military spree: US arms industry sees boom as Warsaw becomes top buyer

M1 Abrams tanks from USA
M1 Abrams tanks from USA
Images source: © Flickr

9:43 AM EST, January 30, 2024, updated: 4:38 AM EST, March 7, 2024

The USA is setting new records in international arms sales. The State Department revealed that the United States government personally oversaw negotiations for arms sales totaling 81 billion dollars. This represents a record surge of 56 percent compared to the year 2022.

The remainder of the sales consisted of direct transactions, conducted by US defense corporations. These corporations sold their products directly to other countries.

Poland Amongst Top Buyers

Data up to October of the previous year (marking the end of the US fiscal year) shows that Poland was one of the most valuable clients of the American arms industry. The country was responsible for some of the largest purchases, as reported by the BBC.

Poland opted to acquire American Apache helicopters costly at 12 billion dollars and also spent an additional 10 billion dollars on High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (Himars), according to the data.

That's not the end of the list. Warsaw also invested 3.75 billion dollars in M1A1 Abrams tanks and a further 4 billion dollars in integrated air and missile defense command systems.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk declared his intention to pursue the military modernization program. The ambition of this program is to establish Poland as the "most powerful land force in Europe", as emphasized by the BBC.

See also