Poland DEFENSE AND THE NATIONAL ECONOMY
Sokol helicopter, manufactured at Swidnik Transport
Factory.
Courtesy Polish Information Agency, Warsaw
In the early 1990s, military planners recognized the
crucial
connection between the health of the national economy and
the
degree to which the Polish Army could be transformed into
a lean
and efficient defensive force. Given a stringent budget,
key
decisions were needed in arms procurement policy,
particularly
regarding foreign versus domestic manufacture and the
degree of
technological sophistication. The practicality and
advisability
of converting the Polish arms industry to civilian
manufacture
and budgetary allocations to defense were also major
concerns.
Data as of October 1992
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