Poland prepares to take over NATO's Baltic command in 2028. Chief of General Staff reviews preparations in Gdynia

The Chief of the General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces, General Wiesław Kukuła, met the commander and personnel of the Maritime Operations Centre - Maritime Component Command (COM-DKM) in Gdynia. The main purpose of the visit was to assess Poland's preparations for achieving the capability to take over responsibility for NATO's regional maritime headquarters, Commander Task Force Baltic, in 2028. The general also declared that he believes a separate Polish Navy Command, dissolved in the command-system reform a decade ago, will be re-established.

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02 september 2026   |   12:12   |   Source: Gazeta Morska   |   Prepared by: Kamil Kusier   |   Print

fot. Marynarka Wojenna RP

A step strengthening Poland's role in NATO

During the visit General Wiesław Kukuła reviewed the state of COM-DKM's preparations for creating a regional maritime headquarters that is to give Poland the ability to command allied naval operations in the Baltic. The discussions covered the progress of organisational and training work, personnel preparation and the building of command capabilities in line with NATO standards. An important element of the preparations is the service of Polish officers and non-commissioned officers in the currently operating CTF Baltic in Rostock, where they are gaining experience in planning, coordinating and conducting allied maritime operations.

– Taking over responsibility for CTF Baltic will be another step strengthening Poland's role in NATO's regional command system. We must be prepared not only to assign forces to allied operations, but also to plan and coordinate them and to command the entirety of forces committed to an operation from all nations. We are building a capability of real significance for the deterrence and defence of the Alliance's entire eastern flank – stressed General Wiesław Kukuła.

A navy with one foot in salt water

The Chief of the General Staff devoted much of his remarks to the character of modern operations at sea and a multi-domain approach to building the fleet's capabilities.

– The Navy should stand with only one foot in salt water. The other must rest on the full spectrum of multi-domain capabilities. Only such a balanced approach will give the Navy the ability to conduct victorious operations in the future – said General Wiesław Kukuła.

– Modern warfare at sea is not waged by ships alone. It is waged by an entire system - sensors and effectors deployed at sea, on land and in the air, connected into a single network of command and data exchange. Ships remain an extremely important element of that system, but the advantage goes to whoever first detects the adversary, builds situational awareness, makes the decision and effectively employs an effector – added General Wiesław Kukuła.

What CTF Baltic is

Commander Task Force Baltic is NATO's regional maritime headquarters, operationally subordinate to Allied Maritime Command in Northwood. Its tasks include planning and coordinating allied exercises and operations in the Baltic Sea, building a comprehensive maritime picture and commanding designated NATO forces. It takes part, among other activities, in Baltic Sentry, aimed at increasing security in the Baltic, including the protection of critical maritime infrastructure and the safety of shipping.

The headquarters was established in Rostock on the basis of the German DEU MARFOR staff, and Polish sailors have served in its structures from the outset. In 2028 responsibility for CTF Baltic is to be taken over by forces drawn from COM-DKM in Gdynia.

COM-DKM and Operation Zatoka

The Gdynia-based centre commands designated forces assigned to operations on the maritime axis in peacetime, crisis and war. It coordinates activities in Poland's maritime zone of responsibility, contributes to situational awareness and provides the ability to plan and conduct operations in the maritime domain. It also commands forces taking part in rescue operations in the Polish SAR zone of responsibility, cooperating in this field with Poland's Maritime Search and Rescue Service.

Since 2022 COM-DKM has commanded Operation Zatoka, whose aim is to monitor shipping, identify potential threats and observe waters containing infrastructure vital to state security. Maritime situational awareness is built around the clock, in close cooperation with allies.

From certification to a re-established Navy Command

Over the next two years COM-DKM will develop its structures and competences and prepare personnel for the certification process. Ultimately Poland is to have a headquarters capable both of directing a national operation in the maritime domain and of commanding designated allied forces in the Baltic.

– We fight for the sea in order to protect what is on land. Control of the Baltic is not an end in itself - it is a condition for preserving the resilience of the state and ensuring freedom of action for the entire Armed Forces. It is across the Baltic that strategic lines of communication run, it is on its seabed that critical infrastructure lies, and it is by sea that allied support will also reach Poland – said General Wiesław Kukuła at the close of the meeting.

– A strong Navy does not defend the sea alone. It creates an anti-access zone defending the state from the direction of the sea. There is a great deal ahead of us to make up for the many years in which the Navy was reduced to an auxiliary role for the other services. Today that is the past. I believe that part of this will also be the re-establishment of the Navy Command, which will contribute significantly to the coherent development of this service, critical to the security of the state – stressed the Chief of the General Staff.

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CTF Baltic generał Wiesław Kukuła NATO na Bałtyku COM-DKM Centrum Operacji Morskich Dowództwo Komponentu Morskiego

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