The first contracts financed by the SAFE program were signed on Thursday in Legionowo near Warsaw. They concern supplies for the needs of the Cyberspace Defense Forces, including: cryptographic system and mobile cybersecurity laboratory.
The first contracts signed include the supply of a post-quantum IP encryptor from Enigma sp. z o. o., a high-trust cryptographic system from Krypton Polska sp. z o. o., a secure data exchange system from Filbico sp. z o. o. and a mobile cybersecurity laboratory from Media sp. z o. o. However, these are relatively small contracts from small players.
Look: The first agreements under SAFE have been signed. Donald Tusk: a historical moment
Who else will benefit from SAFE
Bigger deals are yet to come.
Who will benefit? “Everyone,” a representative of the arms industry smiled in a recent informal conversation with us. First of all, the funds are to stay in Europe, and plants in Poland are to receive a huge cash injection.
It is no secret that the largest beneficiary of the program will be Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa, the national “chaebol” that brings together most of the industry's plants.
However, PGZ has plants all over Poland and, according to the company itself, it cooperates with up to 12,000 companies. smaller companies from all over the country. A good example of SAFE functioning is the “San” anti-drone system purchase program. Its value is approximately PLN 15 billion. Although the key partner of the project is the Norwegian Kongsberg, the Polish champion, PGZ, will also benefit. Zakłady Mechaniczne Tarnów, which belongs to it, will deliver a multi-barreled machine gun. But Advanced Protection Systems, a private company from Gdynia, which is to be responsible for the command system in this project, may also have reasons to be satisfied.
Who else can benefit from SAFE? A few months ago, the deputy head of the Ministry of National Defense, Cezary Tomczyk, mentioned companies such as MESKO, Wojskowe Zakłady Lotnicze No. 1 in Łódź, Wojskowe Zakłady Elektroniczne in Zielonka, Fabryka Broni “Łucznik” in Radom, Huta Stalowa Wola and Zakłady Metalowe “Dezamet”.
Key plants in the arms industry are located throughout Poland. However, Silesia is an exceptionally strong region. Deloitte even forecasts that this region may be a Polish arms hub.
Look: This could be the Polish hub of the defense industry. Experts point to the location
A less obvious point on the Polish armament map is Bydgoszcz. This city may not be so closely associated with this industry, but it has several plants that can greatly benefit from SAFE. For example, the headquarters of the Nitro-Chem company (also part of PGZ), which produces ammunition, is located there. But the Belma electromechanical plant in Bydgoszcz, which produces, for example, tactical heads for drones, may also benefit from the program. There are also Wojskowe Zakłady Lotnicze No. 2 in Bydgoszcz, which deals primarily with aircraft renovations and modernizations.
Bydgoszcz is also the headquarters of a lesser-known, dynamically operating private company, Teldat, which is, however, very important for our defense. It produces and develops IT systems for the military.
Not only large cities can benefit from the program. Important players in the Polish defense industry also include Maskpol, a manufacturer of protective equipment. The company's headquarters is in the small Silesian village of Konieczki, where only a few hundred people live.
Can Americans benefit from the EU program? It is no secret that Washington is not a SAFE enthusiast. The program is intended primarily to strengthen the European arms industry. However, a large part of our industry is controlled by US companies. For example, the PZL Mielec plant is part of the large US concern Lockheed Martin.
However, our interlocutors from the defense industry believe that the program is so large that even US companies can benefit from it to some extent – for example through service contracts. It is not the case that SAFE closes the way to purchasing equipment from the United States.
— This is such a gigantic program that virtually every larger plant will benefit from it. Also those companies that belong to US corporations – we hear from one of our interlocutors from the industry.
Over PLN 180 billion in the game
On May 8, the government signed a loan agreement with the European Commission under the SAFE program. Poland is to obtain approximately EUR 43.7 billion from the program, i.e. over PLN 180 billion.
According to the government's announcement, approximately 40 contracts are to be signed under the SAFE program by the end of the week.
