Poland to expedite defence investments with landmark Special Act
In August 2025, Poland’s president signed the Special Act on Defence Investments, a sweeping reform designed to accelerate critical military projects and strengthen the domestic arms industry. The law introduces a dedicated legal fast track, drawing on proven tools from other infrastructure “special acts” but tailored for defence.
Streamlined administrative approvals
The law establishes two new categories – strategic investments and key investments – each with its own legal mechanisms. The Ministry of National Defence will decide which category applies to a project based on its importance to national security.
Strategic projects will receive a single consolidated permit – the Decision on Strategic Investment Implementation (DRSI) – that bundles property acquisition, land division, building design approval, and construction authorisation into one action. This approach bypasses the multi-step bureaucracy that previously slowed projects for years. The DRSI will be legally fortified, making it difficult to challenge or overturn.
Key investments will follow an even lighter track. Only a simple notification to public authorities will be needed. These projects will take place entirely within closed military zones, with their technical parameters classified.
Security over bureaucracy
The environmental and water-law assessments – long a bottleneck – are replaced by targeted mitigation and compensation measures, allowing work to start faster without entirely discarding environmental safeguards.
Protective zones can also be created around military zones to guard against unwanted civilian development nearby.
Procurement overhaul
The Special Act on Defence Investments also rewrites the rules for acquiring certain high-tech systems. Unmanned aerial vehicles, unmanned weapon platforms, and counter-drone technologies – once tested, approved, and cleared by the Ministry of National Defence – are now exempt from Poland’s Public Procurement Law. This shift allows rapid, confidential purchases that maintain quality standards while protecting sensitive information.
To prevent abuse and ensure quality, the Ministry of National Defence has committed to internal competitive testing and rigorous vetting — both to ensure operational suitability and to avoid sourcing from suppliers linked to opaque or questionable funding.
Strategic impact
In practice, the reforms will let Poland acquire and deploy advanced unmanned systems far more quickly, responding to operational needs with agility and preserving its technological edge. With lessons from the war in Ukraine underscoring the need for speed, Poland is betting on flexibility over red tape – a move that could reshape both its defence posture and the growth trajectory of its arms industry. For the domestic defence industry, the Special Act on Defence Investments promises a surge in opportunities with fewer procedural barriers, shorter project timelines and a procurement environment more favourable to innovative, field-tested solutions.
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