On Wednesday, 19 November 2025, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defence Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz announced that the Task Force established to develop recommendations concerning the acquisition of a new class of submarines under the Orka program has prepared its recommendations for the Council of Ministers.
ORP Orzeł (291), Project 877E Paltus (NATO: Kilo), during this year’s naval parade in Hel / Photo: Przemysław Gurgurewicz, MILMAG
“The latest updates on the Orka program! The Task Force responsible for this program, operating under my leadership, has prepared recommendations for the Council of Ministers. We are getting closer to purchasing modern submarines for the Polish Navy,” the Minister of National Defence wrote on the social platform X.
“It’s happening! We have completed the analysis of documentation within the Orka program. The recommendations have been issued, and submarines for the Polish Navy are getting closer,” added Deputy Minister Paweł Bejda, who is responsible within the Ministry of National Defence for overseeing the technical modernization of the Polish Armed Forces.
Earlier, during a press conference regarding Operation Horyzont, the Minister of Defence assured that the deadline for announcing the winner of the program would be met—meaning by the end of November, and possibly during the Navy Day celebrations on 28 November.
The bidders in the Orka program are:
- Sweden and Saab Defence and Security with the A26 Oceanic design;
- Germany and TKMS with the U212CD design;
- Italy and Fincantieri – Cantieri Navali Italiani with the U212 NFS design;
- France and Naval Group with the Scorpène Evolved Full LiB design;
- Spain and Navantia with the S-80 Plus design;
- The Republic of Korea with Hanwha Ocean offering the KSS-III Batch II design, and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries offering the HDS-2300 and KSS-III PL designs.
The offers were submitted by entities from the original list of eleven parties that expressed interest during the preliminary market consultations on 14 July 2023. The highest-scoring proposals, listed alphabetically, came from Germany, Sweden, and Italy; however, the remaining bidders have not been ruled out.
The Task Team for the Orka programme was established on 30 September of this year under Directive No. 26/MON, following a resolution of the Council of Ministers dated 17 September, which mandated the selection of a supplier for the new submarines by the end of the current year.
