Poland marks Armed Forces Day with military parade and political clash over SAFE loan

Warsaw parade

On 15 August, Poland marked the 106th anniversary of the Battle of Warsaw with a military parade on Wisłostrada and a naval parade in Gdyni. President Karol Nawrocki received the ceremonial report at 12:00, after which he awarded general nominations to 21 officers of the Polish Armed Forces. The Warsaw parade featured approximately 2,000 soldiers and 300 vehicles, including Borsuki infantry fighting vehicles, K2 tanks, and Patriot missile launchers. Dozens of aircraft flew overhead, among them government Boeing 737 and Gulfstream G550 planes, French Rafale fighters, and the newest addition to the Polish Air Force, F-35 aircraft. The parade stretched several kilometers, moving at a constant speed of about 8 km/h.

First appearances and allied participation

For the first time, soldiers of the Active Reserve marched in the parade. Allied troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Romania, Croatia, Canada, and France marched alongside Polish forces. The French Foreign Legion made its debut, marching last at its traditional pace of 88 steps per minute compared with the standard 120 steps per minute. The air component opened with 10 parachutists descending with flags of NATO, the EU, Poland, and five service branches. AW149 helicopters from the 25th Air Cavalry Brigade led the helicopter flyover; 32 have been ordered and nearly half are already in service. AH-64D Apache helicopters with Polish checkerboards also flew, while four Special Forces helicopters drew commentary about their limited equipment. Polish WB Group drones, including FlyEye, FT-5, and Warmate, were displayed on launchers, alongside Wizjer designs from the Air Force Technical Institute.

Naval parade in Gdyni

In Gdyni, a naval parade featured more than 20 Polish and allied warships stretching from Gdańsk Brzeźno to Gdyni. The first units passed the South Pier at approximately 13:30. The corvette ORP Kaszub and Kormoran II class mine destroyers were among the vessels presented. A "SAFE Town" on Kościuszko Square offered visitors heavy military equipment, flight simulators for fighter jets and Apache helicopters, and an interactive shooting range. In the afternoon, the decks of ORP Błyskawica, ORP Kormoran, and ORP Maćko were opened to the public. Senate Marshal Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska participated in the Gdyni ceremonies.

Political speeches and the SAFE dispute

The day's theme was "Polska SAFE - Bezpieczna Polska," a reference to the EU SAFE loan program. Nawrocki criticized the branding, saying Polish armed forces do not need foreign-language adjectives to define themselves. He also pledged to ensure the current government fulfills all defense contracts signed by the previous administration and to protect good projects of the current government from political rivalry after the 2027 parliamentary elections.

We cannot lock our security in a safe whose keys are in other European capitals, even the friendly ones, even the important ones. The Polish soldier and the Polish commander will be responsible for our security, and only then can we build strong strategic alliances.

Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz responded by expanding SAFE into four Polish pillars: Sojusze (Alliances), Armia (Army), Fabryki (Factories), and Europa (Europe), and announced the goal of creating an "Armia 500."

In Gdyni, Prime Minister Donald Tusk outlined four pillars of security: sealed borders, real alliances, investment in the army, and a growing economy. He stated that Poland's economy grows four times faster than Germany's and five times faster than France's.

We do not want battles anymore, if any, then victorious ones, but we want to avoid war, and only the one who is strong, well-prepared, truly independent and sovereign will avoid war.

Tusk added that Poland would be safe only when there is no betrayal and no extreme stupidity in the country. He cited as an example of undermining security the blocking of spending on armaments through the SAFE project, worth 180 billion zł for the military, police, border guard, and Polish defense industry. PiS politicians criticized the SAFE branding at the parade, with MP Andrzej Śliwka noting that of the first 28 billion zł tranche, 0.56% has been spent so far.