WARSAW, Poland — As Poland aims to spend a record-breaking 200 billion zloty ($53.8 billion) on its military in 2026, this year’s edition of the country’s MSPO defense show, set for next week, is shaping up as the largest in history, with around 1,000 exhibitors from across the world, a new hall, and the entire exhibition space sold out to a plethora of foreign and domestic companies.
Russia’s ongoing invasion of Poland’s neighbor Ukraine has triggered an expenditure hike by Warsaw, with the Polish defense budget forecasted to total 4.8% of the nation’s GDP this year. Over the past years, Poland has allocated a significant share of its military procurement spending to gear from the United States, purchasing Abrams tanks, F-35 fighter jets, AH-64E Apache helicopters, Patriot missiles and M142 HIMARS rocket launchers, among equipment. At the same time, the conflict in Ukraine has encouraged Poland’s current pro-European Union government to pursue a ramp-up of its domestic weapons, equipment and ammunition manufacturing capacities.
Benefiting from the bloc’s Security Action For Europe (SAFE) scheme which provides low-interest loans for military acquisitions, Poland has also secured up to €43.7 billion ($50.9 billion) worth of loans. For the Polish defense industry, the EU’s €150 billion scheme also presents an opportunity to market its products through joint acquisitions between member states.
On Aug. 24, Poland, Norway, Lithuania and Latvia signed a framework deal to purchase Piorun (Thunderbolt) man-portable air defense systems from Polish state-run defense group PGZ under a contract worth more than 8 billion zloty, with Warsaw leading the procurement.
“It is the first contract of this type in which a consortium is not formed by companies, but by countries,” Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, Poland’s Deputy Prime Minister and National Defence Minister, said during the official signing event. “It’s a demonstration of strength, resilience, a demonstration that Poland can be an exporter of military equipment”.
Amid growing demand for its output, Poland’s private sector is also investing to expand its manufacturing capacities and roll out new products, with numerous premieres scheduled for the four-day defense extravaganza event, scheduled to take place in Kielce, central Poland, between Sept. 8 and 11.
Polish leading private defense business WB Group is among the producers that have benefited from Europe’s intensifying demand for drones amid lessons from Ukraine. WB Group has been expanding its range of UAVs over the past years, offering products such as the Warmate loitering munition and the FT5 short-range tactical unmanned aerial platform, among others. On Aug. 27, the group held a press briefing during which it discussed its plans and the role that it aims to play in Poland’s efforts to build up its domestic defense manufacturing capacities.
Piotr Wojciechowski, the chief executive and co-founder of WB Group, said that one of the group’s objectives is to ensure its products are made almost entirely with components made in Poland and European countries, with the inclusion of non-European components limited to the level of “only a few percent.”
The vendor’s goal is to support the development of the “technological sovereignty” of Poland, but WB Group is also open to cooperation with foreign defense groups on projects that can contribute to the domestic manufacturing ramp up, Wojciechowski said.
“Technological sovereignty and European cooperation are not mutually exclusive,” the CEO said.
Using SAFE loans, in May 2026, the Polish Ministry of National Defence awarded three contracts to WB Group to purchase “hundreds” of Warmate sets, close to 200 FlyEye reconnaissance UAVs, and a dozen battery fire modules of the Gladius unmanned reconnaissance and strike system, according to data from the business.
Beyond the Polish market, WB Group is also developing its exports to foreign markets. The business has supplied drones to the Ukrainian military since 2015, and operates a production facility there. WB Group also exports its products to various countries in Europe and Asia. The manufacturer’s plants have the capacity to produce 25 unmanned platforms per day, the CEO said.
Wojciechowski stated that, under a recently-signed contract, WB Group is developing a version of its Gladius system that will fit the requirements of Sweden’s military. The Polish group has a partnership there with Saab.
Next week’s MSPO show will feature Canada as this year’s lead nation. Housed in the newly-built hall in Kielce, some 82 Canadian companies are to showcase a broad portfolio of military vehicles, aerospace solutions, cybersecurity systems, opto-electronics, radar systems, and modern battlefield technology, the show’s organizers said in a statement.
The Canadian industry’s commercial offensive in Poland comes as the North Atlantic nation is working to bolster its defense ties with European partners. In December 2025, Canada announced it would become the first non-EU state to participate in the SAFE scheme. A string of contracts that are either in progress or under discussion could bring the Canadian industry closer to European suppliers.
In July, Ottawa selected German shipbuilder TKMS to supply 12 new submarines to its Navy in what the government has described as the largest defense procurement in Canada’s history. The Canadian authorities are also mulling plans to purchase Gripen E/F fighter jets from Saab.
The scope of Canada’s presence at this year’s MSPO indicates the country is intensifying efforts to look for new partners and markets for its defense industry also in Central-Eastern Europe.
Jaroslaw Adamowski is the Poland correspondent for Defense News.
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