Poland may buy submarines jointly with other NATO members

Czesław Mroczek, deputy Defense Minister, has said that Poland may buy submarines jointly with Norway or the Netherlands in order to cut costs. The ministry had planned to buy three submarines, but a tender was postponed due to the ministry's decision to change the contract specification to arm the fleet with maneuvering missiles. "From the point of view of the procedure and how we do it - whether in one or two proceedings - will depend on if we buy the submarines alone or as a joint project of two or more NATO members," he said. Dutch Defense Ministry spokeswoman Lisa Hartog, when asked to comment on the deputy minister's announcement, told Reuters agency that the Dutch government was in talks with countries that it cooperates with on naval strategy on replacing its "Walrus" class submarines in the coming years. "What we're going to be doing, in concrete terms, will only be decided toward the end of this year," Hartog told Reuters.