Polish soldiers ride the South Korean-made K2 tank during trial drills prior to annual artillery show ‘Autumn Fire 23’ at a military range in Bemowo Piskie near Orzysz, Poland, September 16, 2023. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights , opens new tab

WARSAW, July 24 (Reuters) – Poland is set to sign a $4 billion U.S. loan guarantee to help fund the modernization of its armed forces, the Polish defense ministry said on Thursday.

Amid heightened regional tensions and Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine, Poland is ramping up defense spending and accelerating efforts to modernize its military, aiming to strengthen NATO’s eastern flank.

Since 2022 the United States has provided Poland with over $11 billion of loans and loan guarantees to finance armament programs, including Patriot air defense systems, the HIMARS rocket system and Apache helicopters.

Spurred by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Poland became NATO’s top spender in terms of the proportion of its national wealth devoted to defense.

Warsaw said it will spend 4.7% of gross domestic product on defense in 2025 with a pledge to increase this to 5% in 2026.

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