Polish Industry Resumes Production of Anti Personnel Mines

The Management Board of Polska Grupa Militarna S.A. reports that its subsidiary, Zakłady Sprzętu Precyzyjnego Niewiadów sp. z o.o., has decided to restart and expand its capacity for large‑scale production of anti‑personnel mines. This decision follows the enactment in June 2025 of a law terminating Poland’s participation in the Ottawa Convention. We may recall that this treaty prohibits the use of anti‑personnel mines as a means of warfare, as well as their stockpiling, production, and transfer, and requires their destruction. Poland signed the treaty on 4 December 1997 but did not ratify it until 2012.  

ZSP Niewiadów - Documentation & Infrastructure

The statement emphasizes that ZSP Niewiadów „holds complete technical documentation and infrastructure enabling the rapid launch of production processes.” Equally important for mine‑production capacity, the company „possesses expertise in processing explosive materials—from pressing and filling through to assembly and final integration.” In recent years, investments have been made at the Niewiadów plant specifically to enhance technological capabilities in prefabricating explosive materials. According to the Group’s Management Board, „as part of its development strategy, ZSP Niewiadów is undertaking an investment that includes building a modern Elaboration Factory and creating the Polish Explosives Prefabrication Center—specializing in processes related to mine production.” This is intended to enable mass production of anti‑personnel mines by 2027, using filling and pressing technologies for explosive materials.

Currently, ZSP Niewiadów produces and supplies the Polish Armed Forces with engineering ordnance in the form of:  Universal Shaped Charges (UŁK): used, among other things, to create firing positions in hard ground and to destroy military equipment;  ZLT‑50 friction‑detonator fuses: used to initiate explosive charges.

It should be assessed that resuming production of anti‑personnel mines and replenishing stockpiles of such munitions within the Polish Armed Forces is a development that positively impacts the country’s defense capability. Domestic production capacities are especially significant for implementing projects such as the Shield East.