Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland Siły Zbrojne Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej |
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Service branches |
Polish Land Forces Polish Air Force Polish Navy Polish Special Forces Territorial Defence Force |
Leadership | |
Supreme Commander | President Andrzej Duda |
Minister of Defense | Antoni Macierewicz |
Chief of Staff | LTG Leszek Surawski |
Manpower | |
Military age | 18 years of age |
Conscription | No (since 2010) |
Available for military service |
18,830,448, age 15–49 (2015 est.) |
Fit for military service |
15,583,917, age 15–49 (2015 est.) |
Reaching military age annually |
515,000 (2015 est.) |
Active personnel | 140,000 (2017) (ranked 42nd) |
Reserve personnel | 100,000 (National Reserve Forces and cadets) |
Expenditures | |
Budget | $9,6 billion (FY2017) |
Percent of GDP | 2,01% (FY2017) |
Industry | |
Domestic suppliers |
Polish Defence Holding WZM S.A. PZL-Świdnik HSW S.A. OBRUM |
Foreign suppliers |
European Union Israel Norway Switzerland United States South Korea Former: Soviet Union Czechoslovakia |
Annual exports |
European Union Nigeria Malaysia Vietnam Iraq Libya |
Related articles | |
History |
List of Polish wars Timeline of the Polish Army |
Ranks | Polish Armed Forces rank insignia |
Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland (Siły Zbrojne Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej, abbreviated SZ RP; popularly called Wojsko Polskie in Poland, abbreviated WP—roughly, the "Polish Military") are the national armed forces of the Republic of Poland. The name has been used since the early 19th century, but can also be applied to earlier periods.
The Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland are the Polish Land Forces (Wojska Lądowe), Polish Navy (Marynarka Wojenna), Polish Air Force (Siły Powietrzne), Polish Special Forces (Wojska Specjalne) and Territorial Defence Force (Wojska Obrony Terytorialnej) and are under the command of the Ministry of National Defense of Poland.
From 2002 until 2014, Polish military forces were part of the Coalition Forces that participated in the ISAF mission in Afghanistan led by NATO. Poland's contribution to ISAF was the country's largest, since its entrance into NATO.
Polish forces also took part in the Iraq War. From 2003 to 2008, Polish military forces commanded the Multinational Division (MND-CS) located in the South-Central Zone of Iraq. The division was made up of troops from 23 nations and totaled as many as 8,500 soldiers.
Pursuant to the national security strategy of Poland, the supreme strategic goal of Poland's military forces is to ensure favourable and secure conditions for the realization of national interests by eliminating external and internal threats, reducing risks, rightly assessing undertaken challenges, and ably using existing opportunities. The Republic of Poland’s main strategic goals in the area of defence include:
The List of Polish wars chronicles Polish military involvements since the year 972. The present armed forces trace their roots to the early 20th century, yet the history of Polish armed forces in their broadest sense stretches back much further. After the partitions of Poland, during the period from 1795 until 1918, Polish military was recreated several times during national insurrections that included the November Uprising of 1830, and the January Uprising in 1863, and the Napoleonic Wars that saw the formation of the Polish Legions in Italy. The Kingdom of Poland, being part of the Russian Empire with a certain degree of autonomy, had a separate Polish army in the years 1815–1830, which was disbanded after the unsuccessful November Uprising. Large numbers of Poles also served in the armies of the partitioning powers, Russian Empire, Austria-Hungary (before 1867 Austria) and Germany (before 1871 Prussia). However, these powers took care to spread Polish soldiers all over their armies and as a rule did not form predominantly Polish units.