Back in February 2025, when US Vice President JD Vance announced at the Munich Security Conference that US assistance would be scaled back and called on Europe to take greater responsibility for its own security, many European leaders reacted with consternation and outrage. The shock was short-lived, and Europe immediately took action. As early as March of that same year, the European Commission unveiled a massive plan called “ReArm Europe / Readiness 2030,” which was intended to serve as the foundation for further joint European efforts aimed at improving the Old Continent’s defense capabilities and boosting Europe’s competitiveness in the defense industry. At the same time, an informal race began for the role of Europe’s new security leader and a valuable partner for the United States. Poland was among the countries that, from the very first days following the Munich Conference, demonstrated initiative in advancing further European security discussions and increased investment in its own defense capabilities. Such action was inevitable for a country bordering Ukraine—which had been attacked by Russia—and which was a potential next target of President Vladimir Putin’s aggression.

That is why Poland has risen to the top of the ranking of countries allocating the largest share of their budget to defense—in line with the 5 percent of GDP targeted by President Donald Trump, Poland reached 4.3 percent as early as 2025 (though the target was 4.7 percent), and in 2026, it currently stands at 4.8 percent. In fact, the proposal adopted at the NATO Summit in The Hague in 2025—committing member states to allocate 5 percent of GDP to defense by 2035—originated in Poland. This approach has not gone unnoticed by the US administration, which today points to Poland as one of its key and reliable partners in the field of defense. Allocating such a large portion of the budget to defense has led to an increase in the size of the army, its modernization, and the launch of several projects crucial not only to Poland’s security but also to the entire eastern flank of NATO—such as East Shield, SAN, PIAST (construction of a satellite constellation), and the Wisła Program (the procurement and integration of the Patriot systems). The implementation of the East Shield program—a flagship initiative for Polish security—entered its decisive phase in 2026. The project, valued at 10 billion PLN ($2.7 billion), is also intended to be one of the key elements of NATO’s eastern border defense. What are the project’s objectives, will it also help other countries in the region, and what is the role of the United States?

About the East Shield

On May 18, 2024, during the celebrations in Kraków marking the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Battle of Monte Cassino, Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced investments in fortifications and an air defense system known as the National Security Plan East Shield to strengthen the border with Russia and Belarus, and a satellite component—financed by the European Investment Bank. East Shield is a program planned for 2024–2028 aimed at strengthening Poland’s resilience to attacks and hybrid warfare; it is a key investment in Polish and European security. Importantly, this is not a project intended to supplement the existing barrier on the border with Belarus, which is designed to combat illegal migration—the East Shield will serve solely to deter potential aggressors, limit their mobility, and protect soldiers and civilians in the event of an attack. It is also an innovative component—implemented on an unprecedented scale—of the broad transformation currently underway within the Polish Armed Forces. As part of the program, fortifications will be built and natural terrain barriers (e.g., swamps, slopes, and forests) will be utilized and reinforced. In addition, plans call for the construction of shelters, logistics centers, material warehouses, fortification elements, and a drone detection and tracking system that will operate using thermal imaging, radar, and electronic surveillance. The project involves not only fortifying the border zone but also preparing areas in the border region and support facilities up to 50 km from the border.

The Armed Forces are primarily responsible for the development and construction of the project, with a particular focus on the engineering corps; however, due to its complexity, this is an inter-ministerial project that also involves local governments, the Government Agency for Strategic Reserves, and other entities. The East Shield is being built primarily on land owned by the state and local governments. The plan calls for program components to be procured from Polish manufacturers, which is intended to further strengthen the domestic market, and some of the new infrastructure—such as roads and bridges—is designed to be dual-use and serve residents in peacetime. However, this is not only a national project; it also has international significance, as it will contribute to the joint defense of the eastern flank of the European Union and NATO. Poland is consulting with Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and Finland on sharing experiences and combining efforts to protect the borders.

Construction of the first elements of the East Shield began in late October 2024. By the end of 2025, 60 km of the border had been secured (including 10 km of physical barriers), though most of the work to date has been devoted to completing all necessary formalities and preparing for further processes. In addition, 17 border crossings have been secured. 2026 is a pivotal year for the project, during which another 200 km (including 20 km of physical barriers) of the border is to be secured and the anti-drone system is to be expanded.

European Defense

Poland has submitted 26 (out of a total of over 100) projects related to the East Shield, with a total value of €10 billion, under the European SAFE program, which is part of the ReArm Europe / Readiness 2030 plan. Poland was the first EU country to sign an agreement on the SAFE program. The first 15 percent advance payment of €6.5 billion—out of approximately €43.7 billion allocated to Poland (for comparison, Poland’s defense budget for 2026 is approximately €47 billion)—has already been disbursed to Polish defense contractors. The results are already visible. At the end of May, the first contracts worth over 1.4 billion PLN (€330 million) were signed. SAFE will be used to finance, among other things, the Jarzębina-S guided munitions systems—a key component of the East Shield—as well as TM anti-tank mines and ISM cassettes for Baobab-K mine-laying vehicles. Advanced Protection Systems (APS), a private company specializing in anti-drone systems, also has reason to be satisfied, as it will serve as a key subcontractor for the air defense system under the major SAN anti-drone contract, which includes supplies for the implementation of the East Shield program. The SAN system, Europe’s largest and most advanced anti-drone solution, is part of the East Shield and an important addition to the country’s multi-layered, integrated air and missile defense system. It is partially funded by EU SAFE funds. The total value of the program is estimated at approximately 15 billion PLN (€3.5 billion).

The project also involves close international cooperation. In addition to Poland’s already committed neighbors—Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and Finland—discussions are underway with the United Kingdom and Germany, which are also expected to assist in the implementation of the East Shield. A sister project to the Polish one is the joint intergovernmental project of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia—the Baltic Defence Line. An agreement on its implementation was signed by the defense ministers of these three Baltic countries in Riga in 2024. Its goal is to strengthen the eastern flank, including protection against incursions by troops from Russia and Belarus. The Baltic Defence Line is to be linked in the future with Poland’s East Shield. Since 2025, both programs have been formally incorporated into the European Union’s defense strategy and treated as a single, cohesive system.

The United Kingdom’s contribution consists primarily of technological support and advice from military engineers and sappers. Cooperation with Poland’s western neighbors, however, is becoming much closer. Since April this year, several dozen Bundeswehr soldiers have been stationed in Poland to assist in the construction of the East Shield. Their mission will consist mainly of engineering tasks, including the construction of anti-tank barriers, and the German soldiers will remain in Poland until the end of 2027. The signing of a new agreement on defense cooperation on the 35th anniversary of the Good-Neighborliness Treaty also confirms the growing rapprochement between Warsaw and Berlin on security issues. On June 17 in Warsaw, the Polish and German defense ministers, Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz and Boris Pistorius, signed a new agreement replacing the previous one from 2011. Although Germany was even prepared to enter into a broader agreement providing for security guarantees, Poland opted for a less ambitious solution to avoid a political dispute at home. As Kosiniak-Kamysz said, “The agreement paves the way for new areas of cooperation: in the fields of cybersecurity, shared responsibility, joint command in the Baltic Sea, new technologies—particularly space operations (…), military mobility, and the development of infrastructure to support this mobility between our countries.”

The Role of the United States

In a project so crucial to the security of NATO’s eastern flank, US involvement naturally could not be overlooked. More specifically, this refers to the Ultimate Building Machine (UBM) system for the rapid construction of infrastructure facilities, which can produce shelters, warehouses, and hangars in a very short time. In mid-January 2025, an agreement was signed with the American company M.I.C. Industries for the purchase of UBM machines, which are to be part of the East Shield. Another key element of Polish-American cooperation on this project is the US involvement in the creation of Europe’s largest anti-drone system (the SAN system), as part of which Poland will install up to 700 modern radars along its borders with Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine.

This May, a special visit was paid by a US delegation led by Thomas G. DiNanno, Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security, during which he and Deputy Minister Cezary Tomczyk inspected and monitored progress on one of the sections of the East Shield. “The East Shield, together with the Baltic Defence Line, is becoming the foundation of security for Poland, the European Union, and NATO as a whole,” emphasized Tomczyk. DiNanno highlighted the importance of trans-Atlantic cooperation and joint efforts to ensure border security: “The work being done here is an example of the kind of partnership we want to continue developing in the future.” An agreement on a permanent US military presence in Poland is also drawing closer—following a positive response from US authorities, the government in Warsaw adopted a resolution on June 16 launching the formal process of establishing a permanent US military base in Poland. This is an important issue for Poland because, aside from strengthening its security, it is possibly the only topic that could reconcile the president’s administration and the government, which are currently at odds (even if, on this issue as well, there is an ongoing competition over which side deserves more credit).

Featured image credit: wojsko-polskie.pl