LONDON

Poland has selected Sweden to supply three new submarines in a multi-billion-euro defense deal aimed at strengthening its security in the Baltic Sea, Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz announced on Wednesday.

TVP World reported that the contract, worth an estimated €2.36 billion ($2.6 billion), will see Swedish defense group Saab deliver the vessels under Poland’s long-planned Orka submarine program.

Kosiniak-Kamysz, who also serves as the deputy prime minister, described the purchase as a major step in modernising the country’s naval capabilities.

Poland has sharply increased military spending since Russia’s war on Ukraine in 2022, embarking on a wide-ranging procurement drive across its armed forces.

Officials say the submarine deal is one of the largest acquisitions to date as Warsaw continues efforts to bolster NATO’s eastern flank.