FT has learned about Poland's plans to increase production of artillery shells

Poland plans to increase the production of artillery ammunition for howitzers and other long-range systems fivefold by 2026 in order to reduce dependence on imported weapons. This was announced on June 30 by the country's Minister of State Property, Jakub Jaworowski, to the Financial Times (FT) newspaper.

"Our goal in the near future is to significantly increase domestic production of this type of weapon, as well as to become independent of foreign supplies and create a stable base for national autonomy. This is one of our priorities," he said.

Jaworowski noted that the state-controlled PGZ defense group "in the coming days" will receive 2.4 billion zlotys (about $663 million) of government funds to increase production of 155 mm artillery shells used for NATO-standard howitzers and 120 mm shells for tanks.

It is specified that at the moment PGZ produces about 30 thousand large-caliber shells per year, and Poland intends to increase this number to 150-180 thousand per year through financing.

According to the FT, Poland allocates 4.7% of gross domestic product (GDP) for defense, but for a long time most of these funds went to purchases from abroad, primarily from the United States and South Korea.

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The Telegraph newspaper reported on June 25 that NATO members have committed to allocate 5% of their GDP to defense by 2035. It is specified that they are going to allocate funds to finance basic defense needs, as well as to achieve NATO's potential targets.