The Homeland Defence Act (), also known as the Act on the Defence of the Fatherland or the Act of 11 March 2022, on the defence of the Fatherland, is a

Polish law The Polish law or legal system in Poland has been developing since the first centuries of Polish history, over 1,000 years ago. The public and private laws of Poland are codified. The supreme law in Poland is the Constitution of Poland. Po ...

intended to strengthen the

Polish Armed Forces The Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland (, ; abbreviated SZ RP), also called the Polish Armed Forces and popularly called in Poland (, roughly "the Polish Military"—abbreviated ''WP''), are the national Military, armed forces of the Poland, ...

by increasing the number of active personnel to 300,000, increasing defence spending to 3% of GDP by 2023, modernizing the army and introducing voluntary basic military service.

History

The bill has been signed into law in response to the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

with the leader of Poland's ruling

Law and Justice Law and Justice ( , PiS) is a Right-wing populism, right-wing populist and National conservatism, national-conservative List of political parties in Poland, political party in Poland. The party is a member of European Conservatives and Refo ...

party,

Jarosław Kaczyński Jarosław Aleksander Kaczyński (born 18 June 1949) is a Polish politician. He co-founded the Law and Justice (PiS) party in 2001 with his twin brother, Lech Kaczyński, and has served as its leader since 2003. He served as Prime Minister of Pola ...

, stating that "Poland must have at its disposal the armed forces adequate to the kind of situation we have today – forces that will be able to fend off an attack and will be strong enough to prevent such an attack from happening." The

defence minister A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divid ...

of Poland

Mariusz Błaszczak Mariusz Błaszczak (; born 19 September 1969) is a Polish politician, historian, local government representative and civil servant. A member of the Sejm continuously since 2007 and a prominent figure of the Law and Justice party, he held variou ...

further declared that the ultimate aim is to increase the defence spending to 5% of GDP for Poland to have "the most powerful land forces in Europe." In the spring of 2022, Poland negotiated a contract with the United States for 23 billion złoty (€4.9 billion) to purchase 250 Abrams tanks to replace the 240 Soviet-era tanks that were sent to Ukraine. Poland also struck a $4.6 billion contract for 32 F-35 fighters, adding to the

F-16s The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is an American single-engine supersonic Multirole combat aircraft, multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superio ...

already in service with its air force. Poland has recently committed a large portion of its military budget to Korean-made armaments, where it has signed a series of contracts to purchase tanks, planes, and other weaponry. Poland has placed an order with Korea for $10–$12 billion in military equipment. These contracts include the purchase of 218 K239 Chunmoo rocket launchers, 48 FA-50 light attack aircraft, 200 K9 Thunder howitzers, and 180 K2 Black Panther tanks. By the middle to late 2020s, the Koreans are expected to provide 1,000 K2 tanks and 600 K9 Howitzers, complementing the current supplies.

References

{{reflist Law of Poland Poland–Russia military relations 21st-century military history of Poland March 2022 in Poland 2022 in Poland 2022 in law 2022 in military history