Poland Made Its Arms Imports Classified

The United Nations Register of Conventional Arms (UNROCA) was established in 1991. Its data are public and accessible to everyone worldwide.

UN Member States submit their declarations once a year, covering the previous calendar year. The information provided is supposed to include data on exports and imports of major weapon categories: tanks, armored combat vehicles, artillery systems, combat aircraft and combat unmanned aerial vehicles, attack helicopters, warships, and missile and rocket launchers (including man‑portable air‑defense systems).

In addition, each country may include information on exports and imports of light weapons and small arms, domestic defense‐industry production, and its own holdings of major conventional arms.

Different countries interpret the categories of military equipment in varying ways. Reported imports and exports cover not only military end‑users but also paramilitary forces (police, border guard, security forces), private individuals (civilians), and museums. Often the listed exports and imports are not final end‑use: if Poland imports a weapon from another country, refurbishes or modernizes it, and then re‑exports it, Poland must report both the import and the subsequent export. In summary, the data should reflect the number of items crossing national borders, regardless of the reason. Unfortunately, a cross‑check of global export and import records in this register does not reconcile at all. Nevertheless, the figures given are valuable, since they certainly cannot be lower than the real quantities, provided they are reported at all!

For 2024, Poland for the first time omitted data on imports of major conventional weapons from its report. Since 2022, it has also not reported to the Register the numbers of major arms donated to Ukraine.

Of course, one could attempt to „circumvent” the Polish omission by checking other countries« export declarations to Poland. But that is not a reliable method, since many states have still not submitted their 2024 reports, among them major arms exporters such as the USA and France. Moreover, some export entries concern weapons sent to Poland for further re‑export, or for testing, or for purposes not further specified.  

In 2024, Poland once again sold Ukraine a batch of 122 mm 2S1 Gvozdika self‑propelled howitzers: 78 units this time. Again, the trail leads to Bulgaria, which for years has sold Polish weapons or supplied its own arms to Polish firms for re‑export. In 2024 Bulgaria declared exports to Poland of: 

• 33 × 122 mm 2S1 Gvozdika self‑propelled howitzers plus two extra 2A31 automatic loaders for those howitzers;
• 8 × MT‑LB armored personnel carriers;
• 78 × 120 mm towed mortars.

The Netherlands in 2024 delivered to Poland 24 unspecified rockets or rocket launchers.

From the United Kingdom, Poland imported eight FV432 armored personnel carriers, one FV439 Royal Signals communications vehicle, 13 FV434 Armored Repair vehicles, and intriguingly nine man‑portable air‑defense systems (MANPADS).

There was also an interesting artillery equipment exchange between Poland and Slovakia in 2024. Slovakia sent to Poland a 155 mm „Eva” howitzer plus 39 inert 155 mm OFd MKM BB projectiles and 33 inert OFd MKM projectiles; in return, Poland sent Slovakia an Eva howitzer and a Krab howitzer, all for reciprocal live‑fire testing.

Aside from the USA, the biggest current exporter of major conventional arms to Poland is South Korea. In 2024 it declared deliveries of 56 × K2 tanks and 70 × K9 self‑propelled howitzers. By way of reminder, in 2023 Korea declared exports of 18 × K2, 42 × K9, and 12 × FA‑50 light combat/trainer aircraft; and in 2022, 10 × K2 tanks. 

In total for 2022–2024, South Korea has declared exports to Poland of 84 × K2 tanks, 112 × K9 howitzers, and 12 × FA‑50 aircraft.

Poland in 2024 classified its imports of heavy equipment from the UN, though it did report figures for imported light and small arms and similar. Among the more notable data for 2024 are imports of:   

• 192 × Carl Gustaf recoilless rifles from Sweden
• 3,504 × M72 light anti‑tank weapons from Norway

It is worth noting that Germany’s 2024 declaration still contains neither import nor export data. Of course, UNROCA allows for amendments to be submitted to previously filed reports.

Naturally, data on Poland’s arms imports are known from other sources—namely, information on signed contracts and their implementation, which the Ministry of National Defence and its agencies release progressively.