The Jagiellonian Institute criticizes the decision of the head of the Department of National Defense

Independent Analysis Center The Jagiellonian Institute issued a position in which it comments on the decision of the Department of National Defense to buy three anti-aircraft frigates. According to experts, the cost of purchasing these vessels can be estimated on the basis of data from other European countries, amounting to about 12 billion zlotys. The Jagiellonian Institute recalls that there is a fresh attempt to purchase frigates by the Ministry of Defense, after being mixed with the unsuccessful purchase of used Australian ships in the summer of 2018.

According to experts from the institute, in case of armed conflict in the Baltic, anti-aircraft frigates will last a few minutes. This is due to the proximity of the Kaliningrad oblast, heavily infested with missile weapons from the Russian enclave, less than 100 km from Gdynia. The Russians have installed more than 150 anti-ship missiles, including supersonic and soon hypersonic missiles. The flight time of such a rocket between Kaliningrad and the Gulf of Gdansk is 40 seconds. The attack will be detected at a much shorter distance, so that the reaction time will be even shorter and insufficient for effective defense from a frigate, especially during multiple attacks. .

Only an operation outside Poland will allow the destruction of these ships. "To be sure, the anti-aircraft frigates will have to leave the Baltic before the conflict, as in 1939 in the event of war.They will not be able to ensure the air defense of the Polish territory", explains Łukasz Kister, security expert of the Jagiellonian Institute.

As pointed out by the Jagiellonian Institute, during war games and conflict simulations carried out by the Ministry of Defense with the support of US specialists in 2016-2017 under the Strategic Defense Review, ships such as frigates were considered unfit to defend Poland. According to the Ministry of Defense, the results of the analyzes showed that the defense of the Polish coast should be based on the use of missiles and coastal submarines, which will not be exposed to destruction by Russian rockets. The Jagiellonian Institute is concerned that the Ministry of National Defense does not apply to recommendations arising from its own analyzes.

The anti-aircraft frigates are very expensive warships. The value of the purchase of three can be estimated on the basis of the costs of units of this class built in recent years for British, German, French and Italian sailors, amounting to about 12 billion zlotys . In the world, these ships are mainly used for the defense of aircraft carriers. In the absence of Polish aircraft carriers, the tasks of the frigates will be limited to the protection of allied ships operating outside the Baltic.

The Jagiellonian Institute recommends the implementation of the findings resulting from the review of strategic defense. "The threat from Russia continues to grow, as the current crisis in the Azov Sea clearly shows, and naval armaments must be adapted to Poland's geographical situation and the resulting threats. Łukasz Kister of the Jagiellonian Institute.