Publication date: May 05, 2026
The first act of Polish-British military cooperation, preceding Poland’s accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, was the Agreement on Military Cooperation between the Ministry of National Defence of the Republic of Poland and the Ministry of Defence of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, signed on October 30, 1995. Under the Agreement, bilateral cooperation between Poland and the United Kingdom covered more than a dozen areas, primarily: defense policy; arms control and confidence- and security-building measures; verification activities under international agreements, including joint inspections and observation flights; planning principles; organizational structures of the armed forces; personnel policy; military law; education in the armed forces; training of military and civilian personnel; the role of the armed forces in peacetime; participation of the armed forces in humanitarian operations and during natural disasters; maritime search and rescue; military administration; military medicine; cartography and hydrography; research and development activities; and environmental protection within the armed forces, with the possibility of expanding to other forms of cooperation and modifying existing provisions. In 2002, this was supplemented by a separate memorandum of understanding between the Government of the Republic of Poland and the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland concerning the conduct of military exercises and training and the provision of host nation support. Under the agreement, as part of its general obligations, the host nation is to issue consent and take actions to facilitate the hosting forces in: conducting agreed exercises and training; moving troops along national land, air, and sea routes; moving military equipment, weapons, ammunition, and supplies along these routes; using airport and port facilities; and using local resources to meet the host forces’ supply and equipment needs. Furthermore, the host nation: authorizes host force personnel to use lethal warfare (live ammunition) at agreed locations; provides liaison personnel; informs them of applicable national regulations; assists with customs and settlement matters; and ensures the standard of goods and services provided. These host forces must: conduct exercises and training in accordance with their implementing agreements and other applicable regulations; reimburse the host nation for the costs of supplying goods and services other than those provided free of charge; return borrowed items in unaltered condition; comply with customs regulations; Comply with host nation regulations and procedures, including those related to environmental protection; notify the host nation of shipments of ammunition and hazardous materials, store and use them in accordance with applicable regulations, and provide liaison personnel as needed . In matters of discipline, authorized host nation authorities have the right to detain host military personnel, but must immediately inform their superiors. The host nation exercises jurisdiction over host military personnel within the framework of the general penal system.
Subsequent agreements were created, such as the Agreement on Military Flights and the Agreement on the Protection of Classified Information, which regulated the exchange of classified information, with the exception of information relating to weapons of mass destruction. This agreement established equivalent security classifications and designated the national authorities of the parties responsible for the security of classified information.
This agreement became obsolete due to changes in the situation of both countries, such as Poland’s accession to NATO and the EU, and the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the latter organization. The instrument that replaced the old agreements was the Polish-British Defense Treaty, signed on December 21, 2017, in Warsaw. The treaty supplements the old cooperation with technological cooperation and covers various aspects of cooperation, including: exchange of information and knowledge in the field of security and defense policy; conducting strategic dialogue on matters of common interest; talks at ministerial and high-level command; operational cooperation in the preparation and implementation of foreign peacekeeping and humanitarian missions; collective defense; defense industry; trade in arms and military equipment; logistics and logistics systems; exercises, training, military education, and exchange of experiences between armed forces; exchange of military and civilian personnel; twinning or partnerships between military units from both countries; facilitating the movement of armed forces within the territories of the states; cyber defense; military intelligence and reconnaissance; exchange of information on legal regulations in the military field; strategic communications; crisis management; communication, electronic and IT systems; military scientific and technical research; military medicine and healthcare; military and historical museums; cartography , hydrography and military geography ; search and rescue operations; activities of the armed forces in the social, sports and cultural dimensions.
In practice, in NATO’s activities, Poland and the United Kingdom have cooperated from the very beginning of Poland’s membership in the North Atlantic structures, sharing views on the principles of the alliance’s operation, such as activities outside the territory of member states, and participating side by side in military operations such as missions in Yugoslavia, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. As part of the rotational presence of troops on the Alliance’s eastern flank, established at the Warsaw Summit, British Dragoons and an infantry unit of the Royal English Regiment were deployed to Poland. Meanwhile, based on a unit of the Queen’s Riflemen and Royal Hussars, and later the Royal Welsh Regiment, the unit, along with support units, was formed to form Battle Group Estonia. Poles are responsible for coordinating the Polish and Lithuanian groups within the Multinational Division North East, and Polish armored cavalry soldiers are part of the group stationed in Latvia and, as part of a separate initiative, in Romania. All battle groups, including both Polish and British soldiers, along with the units to which they are attached, are under the command of the Multinational Corps Northeast, based in Szczecin. Similarly, military personnel from both countries cooperate within other units within the Alliance, such as the NATO Force Integration Unit stationed in Bydgoszcz and air units operating in the skies of the Baltic states as part of the “Baltic Air Policing” operation. The United Kingdom and Poland are also united by the constant strengthening of their own defense capabilities and efforts to strengthen the strength of the entire alliance. In addition to participating in NATO structures, and previously the EU, Polish and British soldiers participate in numerous training and exercises to hone their cooperation skills. Examples include the Steadfast Defender 2024 exercise involving British logisticians, the Royal Welsh Regiment, and the Polish 11th Armored Cavalry Division, and the annual Cobra Warrior air force exercise.
In terms of technical cooperation, it’s worth mentioning that one of the Polish arms industry’s flagship products, the Krab gun-howitzer, is based on the British AS 90 Braveheart vehicle. BAE Systems has also made several unsuccessful attempts to collaborate with Polish companies in tenders for the supply of armaments to the Polish Army. Thales has done likewise. The British company MBDA UK has achieved success with the “Narew” short-range air defense system program, which is currently underway. The Polish Navy currently employs British-Italian AW 101 multi-role helicopters, and the “Miecznik”-class frigates, based on the British Arrowhead 140 class, are scheduled to enter service, as well as Blekinge-class submarines equipped with British electronics.
As part of its response to the crisis, in December 2020, Poland sent medical and military personnel to help conduct more than 15,000 COVID-19 tests on people stranded at a massive roadblock across the English Channel in Kent, allowing them to enter France and easing traffic congestion. In November 2021, during the border crisis between Belarus and the European Union, the UK sent 150 soldiers from the Corps of Royal Engineers to support Poland’s border security.
Since the Euromaidan revolution, NATO has supported Ukraine in its efforts to enhance its defense capabilities. Polish soldiers from the NATO-Ukraine Center for Analysis, Training, and Education in Bydgoszcz also contributed. The following year, just before the full-scale invasion by the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom and Poland jointly attempted to cooperate with Ukraine to secure its stability by signing a trilateral memorandum of understanding. This cooperation was to include, but was not limited to, coordinating support for the International Crimean Platform, deepening cooperation in cybersecurity and energy security, and strengthening strategic communications to counter disinformation. With the outbreak of the war, NATO as a whole, including the governments in London and Warsaw, engaged in diplomatic and material efforts to help Ukraine defend its sovereignty, providing weapons and equipment to troops and imposing further sanctions on the aggressor.
New treaty
Faced with the growing threat from Russia and the uncertain policies of the former peace guarantor, the United States, in early 2025, Prime Ministers Tusk and Starmer announced closer cooperation. Poland and the UK have begun talks on a new defence and security treaty that aims to strengthen military cooperation and deterrence strategies against threats such as Russian aggression and cyber and hybrid attacks. The British statement on the matter reads: “The treaty will support our armed forces in cooperating more closely to protect Europe from Russian aggression and to do more to combat disinformation and hybrid threats. Both countries will also work together to dismantle human trafficking rings, secure energy supplies, and protect infrastructure.” As a gesture of friendship and to strengthen technological cooperation, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer also reaffirmed his support for the British defense industry by opening a new British-Polish joint program office in Bristol this year. This office will be staffed by personnel from both countries during work on Poland’s next-generation air defense system, likely the aforementioned Narew system, and other defense industry projects. The new treaty is expected to build on recent British agreements with France and Germany. The agreement with Germany includes a provision allowing Germany to co-decide on the use of nuclear weapons from the British arsenal, raising the question of whether a similar provision will be included in the agreement with the Republic of Poland. The treaty is currently still under negotiation. According to Melinda Simmons, the British ambassador in Warsaw, it could be signed in early 2026.