The other side of Orka: Saab's Kashubia investments and a Ratownik for Sweden

Three A26 submarines were the headline of Monday's agreements in Gdynia. For Poland's Pomerania, the second layer may matter just as much: an industrial-cooperation package. It runs from roughly 300 million złoty of Swedish investment in Kashubia, through Sweden's interest in buying a Polish-built "Ratownik" rescue ship, to joint servicing of the new boats.

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30 june 2026   |   00:04   |   Source: Gazeta Morska   |   Prepared by: Michał Iwański   |   Print

fot. Krzysztof Niedziela / MON

This was what Poland pushed hardest for at the table. For the first time on an arms contract of this size, Warsaw tied the purchase tightly to returns for its own industry. The principle is simple: about half of what Poland spends in Sweden is meant to come back as investment, joint R&D and export orders for Polish defence firms.

Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz made clear that, alongside the boats themselves, industry is the heart of the deal. "This is not only a purchase of vessels by Poland, but also a purchase of vessels by Sweden from Polish shipyards. We are talking in particular about the Ratownik, but also other investments in Poland's defence industry," he said. Prime Minister Donald Tusk called the cooperation with Sweden "another impulse for the development of our industry."

300 million złoty in Kashubia

The most concrete part, and the closest to readers in Pomerania, concerns investments under the Green Industrial District Kashubia (Zielony Okręg Przemysłowy Kaszubia). The total value of projects put forward so far by the Swedish side is around 300 million złoty, roughly 70 million euro, Maciej Samsonowicz, an adviser to the Defence Minister, told Daily Mare. The latest working meeting with Saab on the matter took place on 23 June.

The plans cover three areas. The first is final production of the Carl-Gustaf M4 in Poland, with technology transfer, a service base and the integration of Polish firms into Saab's global supply chain. The second is a Sensor Centre, producing electronic and radar systems and providing technical support for systems used by the Polish armed forces. The third, and the most interesting for the Navy, is an Underwater Technology Centre, working on underwater technologies and, in time, on unmanned underwater vehicles and torpedoes.

Samsonowicz was quick to add one caveat: formally, these investments are not part of the Orka programme. They are better seen as building durable defence-industrial capacity in Poland, part of a wider regional security concept and the idea of an economic-military macroregion around the Baltic. Some of the expertise developed at the Underwater Technology Centre may of course prove relevant to naval programmes, but for now it is a parallel track, not a clause in the submarine contract. Over the coming months the two sides are to firm up the scope of the projects, assess locations (sites in Kashubia, including near Gdynia, are under consideration) and prepare the formal terms.

A "Ratownik" for Sweden

The traffic also runs the other way: Swedish purchases of Polish equipment. The leading candidate is the "Ratownik" submarine-rescue ship, to be built at PGZ Stocznia Wojenna, in a contract estimated at more than one billion złoty.

For now, though, only the "Ratownik" agreement has been signed, setting the legal and organisational framework for a possible Swedish purchase. There is no contract yet, and the talks are not advanced. Sweden has shown interest, but the road to a signature is still long. It is worth recalling that "Ratownik" is also Poland's own programme: the ministry ordered one such ship in late 2024 for about a billion złoty, and its keel was laid in February 2026 at PGZ Stocznia Wojenna. Swedish interest would therefore mean an additional, export unit, and real work for Pomeranian yards.

Servicing, a joint venture and Piorun

For the Navy, the key prize is the ability to maintain the new boats independently. Under the contract with the Armament Agency, Saab is to transfer technology and competencies for maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) across the boats' life cycle, ultimately giving Poland full self-sufficiency in servicing and modernisation. Poland's PGZ and Saab signed a memorandum of understanding opening the way to building those competencies at home, with a possible special-purpose company to handle servicing and, later, projects such as underwater drones and torpedoes. It builds on a strategic maritime-technology agreement the two signed on 13 May. WB Group, in turn, is hoping for export orders, including for the Gladius loitering-munition system.

That the cooperation can work both ways was shown a few months ago: in September 2025 Sweden signed a deal for Polish Piorun man-portable air-defence systems worth 3 billion Swedish kronor, around 1.16 billion złoty, the largest export order yet for the system.

An opening for Pomerania

For Pomerania, this is a prospect the region has not seen in a long time. Around Orka, a coherent plan is taking shape: a durable defence-industrial ecosystem centred on Kashubia and Gdynia. Carl-Gustaf launchers, a sensor centre and an underwater-technology centre are not one-off orders but the seed of competencies that could stay in the region for years, along with technology transfer and high-tech jobs.

The role of Pomeranian shipyards is growing in parallel. PGZ Stocznia Wojenna is becoming a base not only for building ships but for servicing them across their life cycle, and Swedish interest in the "Ratownik" opens the door to export contracts. The next steps, from location studies to formal arrangements, are mapped out over the coming months. The project is entering its concrete phase.

This less spectacular layer of the deal may prove the most tangible for Pomerania. If the declarations turn into delivery, the region will gain not only a modern fleet off its shores, but a place at the centre of a new Baltic defence-industrial map.

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Zielony Okręg Przemysłowy Kaszubia program Orka PGZ Stocznia Wojenna maciej samsonowicz Ratownik dla Szwecji

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