MBF Group The SAFE Programme and the architecture built around it, “Poland SAFE,” create one of the largest financial frameworks for the defence industry in Poland in many years – on a scale approaching PLN 200 billion. This is not merely a budget adjustment or a one-off procurement initiative – it is an attempt to reshape the model of cooperation between the state and industry. In this new formula, not only major state-owned entities gain importance, but also the entire supply chain, integrators, technology companies and specialised project consortia. In this context, SAFE becomes a systemic impulse that may genuinely influence the structure of the market.
SAFE – budget, technology and acceleration of decisions
The structure of the programme shows that 26% of the funds – PLN 44.2 billion – have been allocated to air defence, missile defence and counter-drone systems. Additionally, 36% of the budget covers technologies such as satellites, space, cyber capabilities, drones and anti-drone techniques. This clearly indicates that the UAV and C-UAS segment is among the key investment priorities.
Equally important is the declared acceleration of investment decisions. The Chief of the General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces, General Wiesław Kukuła, stated explicitly:
“SAFE creates financial space that will enable us to carry out additional acquisitions of systems which, under the current financial framework, we had placed well beyond 2030.”
(Gen. Wiesław Kukuła, Chief of the General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces)
This statement is strategically significant – we are not talking about plans postponed for a decade, but about the potential shortening of the implementation cycle. In practice, this may mean faster transition from demonstrator and prototype phases to operational pilots and initial deployments.
SAFE as a programme for thousands of companies – not only for the largest players
One of the most important elements of the government’s message concerns the scale of the programme’s impact on the entire industrial ecosystem. Official communication stated:
“Nearly 12,000 companies cooperating with and supporting the Polish defence industry will benefit from the SAFE programme.”
(Chancellery of the Prime Minister / Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland)
“These enterprises operate in all voivodeships and in nearly every county across Poland.”
(Chancellery of the Prime Minister / Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland)
“Nearly 12,000 subcontractors of the PGZ Group will be able to benefit from the programme.”
(Polska Zbrojna)
This means that SAFE is not a programme confined to a few large capital groups, but rather a potential stream of contracts covering a broad ecosystem of suppliers, integrators and subcontractors. In practice, increased demand may extend to component manufacturers, software companies, research and development entities and specialised technology consortia.
What does this mean in practice?
If government declarations translate into actual procurement procedures, SAFE may become one of the most significant mechanisms in recent years stimulating the Polish defence supply chain. For entities possessing ready technological solutions and operating in a consortium model, this may result in a higher number of requests for proposals, pilot projects and demonstrator programmes.
A consortium established before SAFE – a time advantage
In this context, it is worth emphasising that the IRYDA Plus and ARES projects were not created in response to the announcement of the SAFE programme. The industrial-technological consortium agreement was signed during MSPO 2025 in Kielce – before the detailed framework of the programme was announced.
Since September 2025, the development of the projects has been conducted in a structured format: with a clear division of competences, a technology partner (Squadron ASE Group), expert support (Polish Industrial Lobby) and a defined commercialisation model. In the defence sector, time advantage often translates into a shorter path to operational pilots and demonstrators ready for testing in near-real conditions.
For projects such as IRYDA Plus and ARES, this means that they are positioned precisely within the priority technology segments identified by SAFE. If even part of these funds materialises in the form of requests for proposals and pilot programmes, projects already in the prototype phase may gain an advantage over initiatives only just being launched.
IRYDA Plus – a project aligned with the C-UAS segment
IRYDA Plus is being developed as a modular C-UAS unmanned platform capable of integration with detection, command and threat neutralisation systems. The project assumes both military and dual-use applications – including the protection of critical infrastructure and strategic facilities. This model increases commercialisation flexibility and potential funding sources – from military procurement to infrastructure and export projects.
The planned presentation of the system model during Drone World Expo 2026 in Warsaw will mark the transition from conceptual phase to tangible technological demonstration. In the context of accelerated procurement decisions, the prototype stage becomes particularly significant.
ARES – operational and training support
ARES is being developed as a training and simulation system supporting analytical and operational preparation processes. In an operational environment saturated with unmanned systems, building competence becomes as important as acquiring equipment.
Training and simulation systems often feature shorter implementation cycles than combat platforms, which may facilitate faster deployment within modernisation programmes. In this sense, ARES may constitute a complementary and relatively quicker-to-implement component alongside hardware solutions.
Industrial cooperation and internationalisation
An important element strengthening operational credibility is cooperation with PCO S.A., a company wholly owned by Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa. Such relationships demonstrate that cooperation between major state-owned entities and smaller, specialised consortia is not only possible but functional.
Additionally, a letter of intent has been signed for strategic technological cooperation with Rohde & Schwarz Polska Sp. z o.o. The cooperation covers potential integration of secure tactical communications, spectrum monitoring, electromagnetic compatibility and testing and measurement technologies, strengthening the technological backbone of the projects.
At the same time, talks are being held with a renowned partner from the United States, and cooperation with domestic and foreign entities from allied countries is being developed, as reported in ESPI stock exchange reports (Warsaw University of Technology, Lviv Polytechnic National University, AutoBOX Innovations, Franklin, Birlesik Defence and Security Systems Ltd., Shark Aviation Dansmanlik Sanayi and many others). This configuration increases export potential and is in line with the long-term strategy of building international projects.
SAFE and the perspective of publicly listed companies
From a capital market perspective, SAFE may increase the probability of commercialisation of projects already under development. For a publicly listed company operating under regulatory supervision, reporting obligations and financial transparency requirements, cooperation with state institutions requires a high standard of corporate governance and compliance. The status of a publicly traded entity does not determine project success, but in an environment of public and consortium financing it may constitute a factor enhancing organisational credibility and the ability to scale projects over a multi-year horizon.
SAFE does not guarantee success for any company. However, for the first time in years, official government communications have explicitly indicated that thousands of enterprises across the country are expected to benefit from the programme. If this mechanism materialises in the form of tangible contracts and pilot projects, mature technological initiatives developed in a consortium framework may find themselves within a natural stream of funding.
In this sense, SAFE may become not only a procurement programme but also an impulse for the long-term transformation of the Polish defence-industrial ecosystem – one in which space exists both for major state-owned entities and for smaller, specialised technology companies operating within a transparent, regulated and market-based framework.
