K-Shipbuilders Lose Out on Polish Submarine Project

Poland Selects Sweden's Saab as Supplier of New Submarines

The Polish government has selected Swedish defense company Saab as the supplier of its new submarines. Although Korean defense firms such as HD Hyundai Heavy Industries and Hanwha Ocean submitted bids, highlighting their price competitiveness, they ultimately did not win the contract.

According to foreign media reports on November 26 (local time), Polish Deputy Prime Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz announced that Sweden's Saab had been chosen as the supplier of the new submarines.

At a press conference, Deputy Prime Minister Kosiniak-Kamysz explained, "The proposal submitted by Sweden was the best in all respects, particularly in terms of operational capabilities in the Baltic Sea and the delivery timeline." He added, "The contract is expected to be worth 10 billion zloty (approximately 4.0267 trillion won), and we expect the agreement with Saab to be finalized by the second quarter of 2026 at the latest." The first delivery of Saab's submarines is expected in 2030.

Poland has been pursuing the "Orka Project" to introduce three new submarines in order to strengthen its defense capabilities in the Baltic Sea, where tensions have risen since the Russia-Ukraine war. The Orka Project alone has a budget of 8 trillion won.

Prior to the selection of the supplier, there were predictions in Poland that a European company would be chosen due to the European Union's "Buy European" policy, which prioritizes the purchase of European-made weapons. The bidding process included Hanwha Ocean and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, which formed the "K-Defense One Team" to promote Korean defense exports, as well as Germany's Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems, Italy's Fincantieri, Spain's Navantia, and France's Naval Group.

Meanwhile, Sweden proposed purchasing Polish-made weapons as part of its bid for the project. Deputy Prime Minister Kosiniak-Kamysz stated, "As part of broader cooperation, Sweden has agreed to purchase some Polish-made weapons and to provide a 'gap-filler' submarine for the Polish military to use in training."