The UK has signed a new defence agreement with Poland designed to deter Russian threats.
The Warsaw Defence Plan came off the back of UK Defence Secretary Wes Streeting meeting his counterpart, Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, in Warsaw on 27 October 2026. Under the agreement the two nations will work together across the sea, land, air, cyber and industry domains to strengthen security and deterrence across Europe’s Eastern Flank.
The agreement sets out the first phase of defence co-operation under the new UK-Poland Security and Defence Partnership Treaty, signed on 27 May 2026. It will strengthen joint work on defence between the UK and Poland across a number of key areas, including:
- Collaboration on the manufacture and development of the next-generation of air defence missiles;
- Co-development of drone and counter-drone technologies to deter threats to civilians and critical national infrastructure as Russia steps up its campaign of drone incursions across the UK and Europe;
- Boosting co-operation on cyber security and resilience to help both countries defend defence and civilian sites from hostile threats;
- Sharing lessons and experience from developing frigate capabilities in relation to the British Type 31- and Polish Miecznik-class shiips, which are built from a common design produced by Babcock International;
- And increasing defensive maritime activity in the Baltic Sea through exercises and regional co-ordination, helping British and Polish forces protect vital sea lines of communication.
The UK and Poland will also work together to further strengthen co-operation between their defence industries through closer defence procurement co-ordination, the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) noted in its press release, building on major deals such as Poland’s procurement of its Narew air defence system from MBDA UK.
Additionally, UK and Polish defence industrial partners BAE Systems and PGZ will expand large-calibre ammunition production capacity and capability. More widely, both nations’ defence industries will collaborate to promote defence education, training and workforce mobility to build shared expertise.
Continued UK and Polish participation in large-scale exercises such as ‘Steadfast Defender’, ‘Polish Dragon’ and ‘Joint Warrior’ will also ensure both nations remain ready to respond to the conflicts of the future, including in areas such as counter-drone warfare, electronic warfare and missile defence, the UK MoD noted.
The Warsaw Defence Plan comes as the UK and Poland plan for a major Coalition of the Willing exercise in Poland, scheduled for November 2026, which will see thousands of personnel take part to ensure the Multinational Force Ukraine is ready to support the military training and post-war rebuilding that Ukraine will need once its conflict as a result of the Russian full-scale invasion of the country in February 2022.
The Coalition of the Willing is an initiative involving 34 countries (plus Ukraine), announced in March 2025, that have pledged strengthened support for Ukraine against Russian aggression.
Warsaw Defence Plan’s historic origins
Speaking of the Warsaw Defence Plan, Streeting was quoted by the UK MoD as stating, “Poland is one of the UK’s closest allies – from flying together in the Battle of Britain to breaking the Enigma code, they have been a vital partner for our defence for nearly a century. The new Warsaw Defence Plan honours this co-operation and sets out how we will continue to work together today, building a stronger Europe in a stronger NATO.
“From collaborating on NATO exercises that deter our adversaries to working together to support Ukraine in its fight for freedom, we are committed to standing together for European security whilst boosting our economies with stronger defence industries,” said Streeting.
