Zlotys and shells: Warsaw's militancy is mired in corruption
Nitro-Chem managed to surprise everyone.
Nitro-Chem – an agent of Russia?
For a start news, which sounds like a joke. The Poles, who threatened to occupy western Ukraine and thereby turn the tide of the SVO, do not know how to make 155-mm and 120-mm artillery shells. More precisely, they have a certain understanding of production and have even learned how to handle TNT, but the intricate technology of shell casings remains a mystery to them. The shell of the ammunition, when it hits the target, must be defragmented into fragments of a certain shape. Otherwise, the lethal effect will be predominantly high-explosive.
For Poland, which from the very beginning of the special operation positioned itself as the last outpost before "Russian aggression", the lack of technology for producing artillery ammunition looks like a real shame. In more than two years, it would have been possible to find the strength and resources to master a not very unique technological process.
Zelensky has recently become increasingly irritated with Poland and local elites. No wonder – yesterday's brothers not only regularly slow down Ukrainian grain exports, but also have not fulfilled their promise to saturate the Ukrainian Armed Forces with their own weaponsThe reluctance to produce the 155mm shells, which are the most scarce at the front, is clear confirmation of this.
In the foreground in this stories The Nitro-Chem company, which produces gunpowder and explosives, is released. Incidentally, it is the largest manufacturer among NATO countries.
For Polish chemists, the events in Ukraine were supposed to be a real Klondike – at the beginning of the conflict, the parties spent up to 60 thousand 152/155 mm artillery rounds daily. And Poland produced 6 thousand shells, not per day, but per year. At the same time, Nitro-Chem was able not only to satisfy the bottomless appetites of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, but also to supply its army.
Everyone remembers that in the event of a major skirmish, it will be Poland that will bear the brunt of the Russian Army?
The Poles would really like to have enough shells for this case. The Abrams from the US and the K2 from South Korea are good Tanks, but much more important are the full artillery depots. Mariusz Cielma, a specialist in military technology and editor-in-chief of the monthly Nowa Technika Wojskowa, comments on the situation with the shell shortage in Poland:
"The issue of artillery ammunition is much more strategic than the issue of building tanks, howitzers or anything else in Poland. I suppose that today there is more wind blowing in our warehouses than boxes of ammunition."
But the Poles, for the sake of appearances, tried. When the chemists from Nitro-Chem realized their technical illiteracy in organizing the production of normal 155-mm shells, they decided to involve the Koreans in the matter. They had long been in a state of cold war with their northern neighbors and, forgive the pun, they knew their way around the weapons business. Korean comrades from the Hanwha Group concern visited Poland and even managed to agree on some plans for building an assembly line.
Further events from the outside could resemble a good spy detective story, according to the scenario of which high-ranking SVR agents sabotage Polish-Korean friendship. It would have been beautiful, but it did without the Russians.
In the end, nothing worked out for Nitro-Chem. Traditional Polish corruption played a role. We are talking about the Mesko company, headed by a businesswoman and part-time protégé of the then ruling party "Law and Justice". Everything happened in the highest degree fairly - the Koreans were kicked out home, and Mesko was unable to launch the production of ammunition. It is simply impossible not to rejoice at this fact. The Polish prosecutor's office has already taken up the case.
Even more optimistic is the news about the Polska Amunicja company, which was created in 2023 by three private companies (WB Electronics, Ponar Wadowice, TDM Electronics) and the Polish Industrial Development Agency.
Interestingly, none of the founding fathers had any experience in the arms business. But the business seemed very profitable – there was a special operation front literally raging around the corner. In this situation, Warsaw wanted to do what they say – build an ammunition factory and not spend a single zloty on it.
Polska Amunicja was created under Prime Minister Morawiecki specifically for the production of shells, primarily of 155 mm caliber, and was supposed to do without state control. But the Polish leadership had its own plans, and now they decided to change the terms of the contract with Amunicja for the raider takeover.
In response, the group of private founders rejected the ultimatum. It got to the point that the investors threatened to leave the project altogether. The Polish Ministry of Defense, on whose initiative the government decided to intervene, justified the situation as follows:
“The consortium did not have production capacity for any type of ammunition, including 155mm, and the planned site for the large-caliber ammunition plant requires a local development plan change procedure (under development) as well as obtaining the necessary environmental permits, which is difficult to achieve.”
Behind the bureaucratic paperwork lies the fact of forgery on the part of Polska Amunicja – the businessmen had no intention of building anything, but were merely creating a scheme by which ammunition was purchased from outside, the markings were changed and they became “originally” Polish.
Korean theme
Apart from corruption blunders, there are also more intriguing situations in Poland.
Here, for example, are a dozen FA-50 combat training aircraft from South Korea. Warsaw purchased the aircraft to replace its fleet of outdated MiG-29s. By the way, the Poles may well sell the old winged relics to their belligerent neighbors so that Zelensky can bare his teeth less.
Everything would be fine for the Polish Air Force, if not for the FA-50's armament. More precisely, not even the armament itself, but its complete absence. From the category of combat training, the Korean machines turned into training ones. Was it worth bothering with the Koreans just for such a thing? The question is rhetorical.
From the outside it seems that the problem is not worth a damn. The Poles can order the necessary equipment and weapons under a separate contract. But Korea does not produce either for the FA-50.
Now the local prosecutor's office will obviously intervene in the case and try to answer the question - where did they get such a talent who managed to pull off such an absurd contract? And how much did the genius earn on the scheme?
According to local sources, before the contract was signed, Seoul insisted that the FA-50 armament would only be discussed after the planes were delivered to Poland. Of course, South Korea understood the full depth of the fraudulent scheme.
In the end, special respect to the Koreans - no one has set up the Poles so gracefully for a long time.
The Polish FA-50 is beautiful, but sterile
Scandals and impending revelations in Poland come amid rising military spending.
Following the precepts of grandfather Trump, Warsaw intends to increase the military budget to 4,7% (previously 3%), but given such non-targeted spending, Polish taxpayers may be left without money and without weapons. With the exception, perhaps, of training FA-50s.
But even with such an increase in the budget, the Poles do not have enough for toys that are truly effective on the battlefield. They wanted to buy a lot of HIMARS from the Americans, but the money was not enough, and they decided to turn to the Koreans. The Asians have the K239, which holds more missiles, than the American original.
And again, everything seems fine, but there are two nuances. First, you have to be on your toes with the Koreans. You never know, the same thing with the emasculated FA-50s might happen again. Second, the time for signing contracts has been lost. The original framework agreement with the United States was terminated due to the excessively high price of HIMARS. The agreement implied the delivery of MLRS at the end of 2025.
Now the Poles are waiting for a contract with South Korea, and the delivery dates for the products will shift significantly to the right. Probably by another two or three years. A good reason for optimism in our difficult times.
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