Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced a new heavy infantry fighting vehicle named „Niedźwiedź” (Bear) and a Polish satellite network to rival Starlink, speaking at a major arms fair on Thursday.
„Bear”.Polish Radio
Tusk made the announcements at the close of the 34th International Defence Industry Exhibition (MSPO) in Kielce.
He said the vehicle took just a year to develop, far faster than the seven years spent on an earlier model, the „Borsuk”.
„That shows the pace and scale of development, of which Poland is becoming an increasingly impressive example”, Tusk said.
He also touted plans for a satellite system built with the company ICEYE, framing it as a national answer to SpaceX’s Starlink and citing the role of communications in the Russia-Ukraine war.
„This is a challenge, this is a dream, but it is not a fantasy”, he said. „We told ourselves that the outcome of this process, which began today, can be and will be a Polish Starlink”.
Tusk credited the EU’s SAFE defence funding programme with driving billions of euros, dollars and złotys into Polish arms firms.
„By cooperating with all our foreign partners, we do not forget that SAFE — our money, the money of Polish taxpayers, European funds and even American funds — serves the development of the Polish economy”, he said.
Earlier in his address, Tusk marked the anniversary of the September 11 attacks, noting six Polish citizens died in the assault and naming five Polish-American firefighters among the 343 who perished in the rescue effort. He called the attacks „a test of the solidity of our community” and said 43 Polish soldiers were later killed in operations tied to the international response to terrorism.
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Source: Polish Radio