The 2nd edition of the ARMY Congress in Stalowa Wola, organized by the City of Stalowa Wola and the SET (Security Energy Technology) Foundation, has concluded. The main theme of the event was national security architecture, debated by experts, senior military representatives, and politicians. The congress was held under the honorary patronage of the President of Poland, Karol Nawrocki.
Photo: ARMY Congress
The ARMY Congress is held in Stalowa Wola not by accident – the city was founded 88 years ago as part of the Central Industrial District. The event refers to the tradition of building Poland’s economic and military independence. The development of this initiative is of particular importance in the context of the changing paradigm of thinking about armaments in Europe, the geopolitical situation, and recent events related to the security of Poland’s airspace.
Lucjusz Nadbereżny, Mayor of Stalowa Wola:
“I welcome you to a special place – the Museum of the Central Industrial District in Stalowa Wola. Here, a city was born with the most modern industrial plants of the Second Polish Republic, which were part of the state’s defense system. The ARMY Congress 2025 is a place of debate aimed at creating a strategy for Poland. A strategy that our country greatly needs.”
Mariusz Błaszczak, Polish Minister of National Defence from 2018–2023:
“One of my first decisions after returning to power will be the ‘Polish Army – Polish Equipment’ program — a set of new regulations that will allow for real preferential treatment of purchases from the Polish defense industry. Before every purchase — whether armament or elements of soldiers’ individual equipment — a detailed analysis of the possibility of acquiring the given equipment from Polish factories will be required. If it turns out that we will have to wait a little longer, but as a result the Ministry of Defence’s funds will flow to a state-owned or private but Polish company — then so be it. If it turns out we have to pay a bit more, but the Polish taxpayer will benefit — then we will do that. Not a single zloty will be spent without ensuring it can be directed to Polish defense industry. Any purchase of equipment from abroad will have to be thoroughly justified. This process will be overseen by a new military unit whose main task will be the repolonisation of the Polish Armed Forces’ equipment.”
Prof. Sławomir Cenckiewicz, Head of the National Security Bureau:
“Both the National Security Bureau and the future Council for Security and Defense will serve as a forum for discussion and review of what is happening in the area of security, but above all as a place for programmatic preparation of a new perspective for the development of the armed forces and the Polish defense industry. Under the patronage of President Karol Nawrocki, I invite all of you to take part in this discussion. This will be a completely new opening. The development of the armed forces, which we are discussing here, cannot be considered without a review, regulation, and systematization of all strategic documents concerning the state’s defense planning. Our fundamental strategic documents are outdated and do not correspond to the challenges of our era.”
During the Congress, four debates were held on the constitution of security, the expansion of the Polish Armed Forces, new technologies and the defense industry, and security architecture.
The first debate, on the Constitution of Security, was chaired by Lucjusz Nadbereżny, with an introduction delivered by Brig. Gen. (ret.) Andrzej Kowalski, Deputy Head of the National Security Bureau. The panelists were: Mariusz Błaszczak, Tobiasz Bocheński, Paulina Matysiak, and Antoni Macierewicz.
The second debate, devoted to the expansion of the Polish Armed Forces, was moderated by Mateusz Kurzejewski. The panelists were: Brig. Gen. (ret.) Mirosław Bryś, Lt. Gen. (ret.) Dr. Jarosław Gromadziński, Tomasz Hapunowicz, Col. Paweł Nawarycz, Lt. Gen. (ret.) Krzysztof Radomski, Col. Marcin Stachowski, and Dr. Piotr Zuzankiewicz.
The third panel focused on industry and technologies in the service of security and was moderated by Wojciech Dąbrowski, President of the SET Foundation. The panelists were: Sebastian Chwałek, Tomasz Darmoliński, Col. (ret.) Dr. Karolina Grenda, Paweł Majewski, Witold Milczarek, Piotr Nowak, Lt. Col. Krzysztof Płatek, and Tomasz Zdzikot.
The Congress concluded with a debate on the new security architecture of Europe, moderated by Andrzej Śliwka, with an introduction delivered by Maj. Gen. Adam Rzeczkowski, Director of the Department of Command over the Armed Forces at the National Security Bureau. The panelists were: Prof. Piotr Grochmalski, Brig. Gen. (ret.) Marek Łapiński, Brig. Gen. (ret.) Maciej Materka, Tomasz Szatkowski, Brig. Gen. (ret.) pilot Dariusz Wroński, and Prof. Andrzej Zybertowicz.
The main partner of the 2nd edition of the ARMY Congress was the SET Foundation (Security–Energy–Technology) – an expert organization supporting Poland’s economic development, sovereignty, and security.
As part of the Congress, a report was published: The New Architecture of National Defense, edited by the SET Foundation. Full report available for download (PL): https://kongresarmia.pl/data/Raport_Kongres_Armia.pdf