Poland's defence minister: Europe's arms industry must switch to 'war mode'
Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz urged wartime production of weapons and ammunition, and urgent purchases from NATO allies outside the EU.
Archive image · Photo: U.S. Secretary of Defense / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain (cropped and resized)
Polish Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz called for Europe's defence production to be moved onto a wartime footing. "I am actually an advocate for the war-mode when it comes to the production in defence sector," the deputy prime minister said Tuesday on the sidelines of the Warsaw Security Forum. Russia was already doing exactly that: "We cannot overlook this fact." Europe had to speed up weapons and ammunition output, he said, or make a "costly" mistake.
After talks with EU Defence Commissioner Andrius Kubilius, he named three priorities, according to the Anadolu news agency: long-range precision strike weapons, drones and counter-drone systems, and artificial intelligence. He also urged the EU to allow urgent arms purchases from NATO allies outside the bloc when European manufacturers cannot deliver fast enough.
Euronews pointed to the gap with Russia: Moscow is projected by SIPRI to spend 7.5% of GDP on its military in 2026 and, according to Estonian intelligence, produced around seven million artillery, mortar, tank and rocket rounds in 2025. EU member states and Norway are expected to produce about two million artillery shells this year, according to a leaked report.