An interview with Adam Leszkiewicz, President of the Management Board and CEO of the Polish Armaments Group (PGZ, Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa).

Adam Leszkiewicz, President of the Management Board and CEO of the Polish Armaments Group.

The Polish Armaments Group has undergone major organizational changes. As of July 1, its subsidiaries are organized into seven product divisions. Is this the end of the reorganization?

We never intended for the reorganization to be a project with a clear beginning and end. It is an ongoing process driven by the need to adapt to challenges and tasks. Many measures to reorganize the group have already been implemented, but there is still more to be done. This is not the time for definitive conclusions. Nevertheless, three mergers have already taken place, and two more are underway. By introducing divisions as business units, we are changing a certain understanding of the company’s internal operations. Within these divisions, cooperation will be strengthened between companies producing similar ranges of weapons and equipment. In other words, business units are being integrated around products. Coordinating activities at this level will also help to avoid internal competition for orders, which has happened in the past.

What are PGZ’s reorganization priorities?

We are carrying out projects that had previously been on hold, such as the production of 155-mm artillery ammunition. We are also trying to strengthen PGZ’s presence in areas that had hitherto been considered the Group’s weaker points – namely, cooperation with the Ukrainian industry and the private sector in Poland. Meanwhile, we’re also solving problems, such as the situation at H. Cegielski–Poznań, which we’ll merge with Military Automotive Works [WZM, Wojskowe Zakłady Motoryzacyjne]. We’ll also leverage the capabilities of Poznań-based Stomil in this process.

The result of the merger is the creation of the Hipolit Cegielski Greater Poland Armored Works [Wielkopolskie Zakłady Pancerne Hipolita Cegielskiego]. What do you hope to achieve through this process?

In Poznań, we have a lot of potential in terms of expertise, personnel, and infrastructure, which until now has been spread across three companies. We hope this will allow us to increase and accelerate the production of armored vehicles that are critical to the Polish Armed Forces. We are considering launching production of specialized versions of Borsuk, bridges, and unmanned vehicles at the new company. However, the plant in Poznań might also be included in the K2PL tank program if the plant’s dyno room is needed in the production.

Piorun air defense system. Photo: Sławomir Kozioł/18 MD

What are you most satisfied with as the head of PGZ?

First and foremost, I must praise the team spirit in the entire Polish Armaments Group. For me personally, however, the success lies in the fact that we managed to smoothly implement structural changes at PGZ in full cooperation with employees and managers. The same applies to the integration processes across the entire group. Looking at the past few weeks, another source of satisfaction is certainly the preliminary agreement with SAAB, which selected PGZ as a partner in the submarine program for the Polish Navy. It will give us the capability to maintain and repair these submarines in Poland. This agreement confirmed the high level of expertise at PGZ Naval Shipyard [PGZ Stocznia Wojenna]. We are also proud of the agreement to establish a joint venture between Mesko and Eurenco, which will produce modular charges and triple-base propellants for 155-mm artillery ammunition. A key event for us was the signing, at the end of May, of several dozen contracts under the SAFE [Security Action for Europe] initiative.

What else needs to be changed at PGZ to ensure its further development?

Integrating the group and fostering cooperation between the head office and the companies’ management boards requires a lot of work. The idea is to think not in terms of individual plants but of the entire group, because it is the group as a whole that works to ensure Poland’s security. This is not an easy task, because these companies are a bit like states within a state. PGZ’s management boards come and go every few years, while in the individual companies, some people have held their positions for several decades and are often reluctant to accept change.

There is also a lot of work to be done regarding cooperation with Ukraine – we all expected joint projects, technology transfers, and production in Poland. We did have fruitful discussions with our Ukrainian partners during Eurosatory in Paris or at the Ukraine Recovery Conference [URC 2026] in Gdańsk, so I hope it will eventually lead to launching specific projects.

Let’s return to the subject of SAFE. Are you satisfied with the value, subject and extent of agreements concluded with the Ministry of National Defense?

The most important issue for us is accountability. The question of satisfaction is secondary. The amounts from SAFE seem enormous, though they’re probably always too small in relation to the needs of the military. It’s all the more gratifying that most of them will go to the domestic industry. As PGZ, we can’t complain, because we’ve already secured orders worth several dozen billion zlotys from projects carried out by Poland on its own, but we’re still counting on joint orders with other countries.

Borsuk infantry fighting vehicle.

Which of your products may be ordered by other countries within SAFE?

We have the Piorun air defense system and the Baobab mine-laying system, both of which are already popular on foreign markets, but we’re also noticing interest in the Wizjer unmanned aerial system manufactured in Bydgoszcz.

This is all regarding SAFE, but we’re also set to build a rescue vessel for Sweden. Could our cooperation with that country expand?

As for the maritime domain, we’re also discussing unmanned systems and torpedoes. However, topics related to land-based equipment and potential cooperation in third-party markets are also being discussed.

Hopefully, cooperation with the Swedish will be easier than with the Koreans.

Unfortunately, with the initial contracts for the K2GP tanks, K239 rocket launchers, and K9A1 self-propelled howitzers, we led our Korean partners to believe that we only purchase ready products. They were surprised by our requirements regarding the production of the equipment in Poland. In the defense market, everyone is protecting their own interests. From the perspective of our Korean partners, the more they produce locally, the better it is for their domestic industry. We want the K2PL tanks ordered under subsequent implementation agreements to be manufactured to the maximum possible extent in Gliwice, with an increasing number of Polish components.

Industrial cooperation with the United States is also difficult. We have failed to reach an agreement on projects that are crucial for us, i.e., launching the production of ammunition for Patriot and HIMARS systems.

Negotiations on large projects are always difficult and time-consuming, but there have recently been positive developments in this regard. The SAFE instrument, which limited non-European contributions to procured equipment to 35%, has certainly increased American openness to cooperation. Similar provisions will be included in new instruments promoting European industry. I think American companies have realized that they must also manufacture in Europe to remain present on our market.

In terms of export, are we prepared to grant licenses or establish plants abroad as part of joint ventures?

Yes, we’re open to various solutions. We’re currently working on a project under which we’ll grant a license for specific equipment or collaborate in a way that allows us to conduct production abroad. We’re also ready to purchase companies operating in other markets if we come across interesting offers.

Wizjer unmanned aerial system.

An example of a joint export offer is the Borsuk infantry fighting vehicle with the Slovak Turra 30 turret. What markets should be interested in it?

We’re targeting this offer primarily at countries in the Persian Gulf, based on our partner’s expertise in that regard. The same applies to Rosomak with the Slovak turret, because due to the topography of that region, wheeled vehicles are preferred over tracked ones.

PGZ’s weak point is the necessity to import engines for its vehicles. How do you intend to change this situation?

We’re negotiating with engine and transmission suppliers to move the production of these components to Poland and localize them. We’re also working on a concept of an engine center in Kalisz. WSK-PZL already has experience in manufacturing aircraft engines and is attempting to tackle the challenge of producing engines for drones and rockets. The most important issue, however, is automotive engines. We can produce them in cooperation with our partner from the south, namely Tatra from the Czech Republic. The scale of needs – in the context of Jelcz trucks, among other things – makes this venture economically reasonable.

Speaking of Jelcz, there are problems with meeting delivery deadlines. Wouldn’t it be possible to solve them by changing the production technology for the vehicles? For example, by screwing the cabs together instead of welding them.

We’re not changing the technology because we don’t know if there’s enough time for that. Right now, we’re focusing on rebuilding our production capacity by working with subcontractors. The cabs, for example, were recently sent to the WZL paint shop in Bydgoszcz.

Does PGZ have a chance to become a key European manufacturer of armored vehicles in a few years?

I think we have the conditions for that. We’re developing our infrastructure, and we already have the expertise not only to manufacture, but also to develop new products. There’s a large design office at Huta Stalowa Wola [HSW] that has already carried out successful projects, such as a universal modular tracked chassis, and is now working on a heavy infantry fighting vehicle. In the future, this office could work for the entire group. We should also mention OBRUM in Gliwice, which has the potential to develop new solutions in armored vehicles.

PGZ is working to launch production of the K2PL tanks, specialized versions of Borsuk, weapons and equipment for the Narew air defense program, Barracuda long-range missiles, and to increase production capacity in the area of ammunition, particularly 155-mm artillery rounds. What are other key production initiatives that will strengthen the group’s position in the Polish market and increase its chances to expand into foreign markets?

We want to make a much stronger push into, among other things, the production of autonomous unmanned ground, maritime and aerial platforms, as well as missile systems, but also to collaborate more effectively with start-ups and commercialize their solutions faster. The pace at which interesting dual-use solutions are appearing on the civilian market today, coupled with the growing capabilities for mass and low-cost production of defense systems, makes this segment of the arms market very promising, both domestically and internationally.