Polish Armed Forces
| Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland | |
|---|---|
| Siły Zbrojne Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej | |
Banner of the Polish Armed Forces | |
| | |
| Motto | God, Honor, Fatherland (Bóg, Honor, Ojczyzna) |
| Founded | 12 October 1918 |
| Current form | 31 December 1989 |
| Service branches | |
| Headquarters | Warsaw |
| Website | www |
| Leadership | |
| President | Andrzej Duda |
| Minister of National Defence | Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz |
| Chief of the General Staff | General Wiesław Kukuła |
| Personnel | |
| Military age | 18 years of age |
| Conscription | No |
| Active personnel | ~292,000 |
| Reserve personnel | ~40,000 |
| Deployed personnel | 2600+NATO (2023) |
| Expenditure | |
| Budget | PLN143.3 billion US$38.0 billion (2024) (ranked 13th) |
| Percent of GDP | 4.7% (2025) |
| Industry | |
| Domestic suppliers | PGZ FB Radom ZM Tarnów Mesko Jelcz Rosomak HSW BELMA OBRUM PIT-RADWAR WB Group |
| Foreign suppliers | United States South Korea United Kingdom Norway Turkey Israel |
| Related articles | |
| History | List of wars involving Poland Timeline of the Polish Army |
| Ranks | Polish Armed Forces rank insignia |
The Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland (Polish: Siły Zbrojne Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej, pronounced [ˈɕiwɨ ˈzbrɔjnɛ ʐɛt͡ʂpɔsˈpɔlitɛj ˈpɔlskʲɛj]; abbreviated SZ RP), also called the Polish Armed Forces and popularly called Wojsko Polskie in Poland ([ˈvɔj.skɔ ˈpɔl.skjɛ], roughly "the Polish Military"—abbreviated WP), are the national armed forces of the Republic of Poland.
They comprise five main service branches: the Polish Land Forces (Wojska Lądowe), the Polish Navy (Marynarka Wojenna), the Polish Air Force (Siły Powietrzne), the Polish Special Forces (Wojska Specjalne), and the Polish Territorial Defence Force (Wojska Obrony Terytorialnej), under the command of the Ministry of National Defence of Poland. According to SIPRI, Poland spent $38 billion on its defense budget in 2024, ranking 13th in the world. In 2023, Poland spent the greatest share of its GDP for military expenditures (3.9%) among all NATO members. With over 292,000 active personnel in 2025, the Polish Armed Forces are the third largest military in NATO, after Turkey and the USA.
Historically, the name Polish Armed Forces has been used since the early 1800s, but can also be applied to earlier periods. The Polish Legions and the Blue Army, composed of Polish volunteers from the United States and those who switched sides from the Central Powers, were formed during World War I. In the war's aftermath, the Polish Army was reformed from the remnants of the partitioning powers' forces and expanded significantly during the Polish–Soviet War of 1920.
World War II dramatically impacted Polish military structures, with the initial defeat by Nazi Germany and Soviet Union invasions leading to the dispersion of Polish forces into the underground. After 1945, the Polish People's Army (LWP) was formed under the Soviet political control and its standards aligned to those of the former Warsaw Pact. The LWP's reputation suffered due to its role in political suppression both domestically and abroad, such as during the Prague Spring. Following the fall of communism, Poland shifted towards Western military standards, joining NATO in 1999, participating in missions in Iraq and Afghanistan and undertaking substantial modernization of its forces.