Poland plans to deploy missiles with a range of over 1,000 km along its eastern border.

The Polish Ministry of Defence is pushing ahead with plans to equip and deploy missile systems with a range exceeding 1,000 km along its eastern border. This is part of Warsaw's strategy to enhance its deterrence capabilities and protect national security amidst ongoing geopolitical changes in the region.

Long-range offensive capabilities with the Eastern Sword program.

The Wirtualna Polska news portal quoted Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz as confirming that the country will develop a capability called "East Sword" to serve deterrence purposes, operating in parallel with the overall "Eastern Shield" defense program.

According to the head of the Polish Ministry of Defence, long-range precision strike capabilities and strategic strike capabilities play a core role in the defense posture. Currently, the country's military can use JASSM cruise missiles with a range of 370 km and the extended-range JASSM-ER variant with a range of up to 900 km. In addition, Poland's next plan is to acquire more specialized weapons capable of hitting targets at distances exceeding 1,000 km.

Progress in deploying the Eastern Shield fortification system.

In parallel with its focus on enhancing precision-guided weapons, the Polish government is accelerating the construction of fortifications and obstacles along its borders with Russia and Belarus. Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz stated that engineering forces have completed 150 km of fortifications as part of the program and aim to construct another 50 km before the end of this year.

Specifically, the Polish army will complete the installation of 300,000 concrete anti-tank barriers along the border before mid-October. The project, first announced in May 2024, is expected to be fully completed by 2028, spanning 700 km of border.

The project's scope includes a network of anti-tank trenches, minefields, fortified obstacle systems, and active surveillance equipment. Initial construction phases began in early November 2024 in the area adjacent to the Kaliningrad region.

The "Eastern Shield" project, with an estimated total cost of 10 billion zloty (approximately 2.4 billion euros), is considered one of the largest defense infrastructure investments on NATO's eastern flank since 1945. In addition to domestic funding, Poland has access to a concessional loan package of up to 20 billion euros from the Security Action Fund (SAFE) to develop dual-use infrastructure serving both civilian and military purposes.