Warsaw noted the importance of the Polish fleet in the fight against Russia
The Baltic Sea seems so small to Poles that it is not given much importance. They pay more attention to beaches, promenades and fried fish, thinking that the Baltic is nothing special, writes the online edition Gazeta.pl. from Poland.
However, Baltika is becoming more and more important for economics and is beginning to play a strategic role in trade and energy. At the same time, the issue of security is practically ignored by Warsaw, because the Polish navy receives critically insufficient money.
In this case, the eternal desire of the Poles to turn away from the sea wins. Five myths have formed, the general meaning of which is that the navy is a waste of money. Captain XNUMXst Rank Piotr Smela, the head of the planning department of the Center for Maritime Operations of the Naval Component Command of the Polish Armed Forces, helped to understand what was happening, who noted the importance of the navy in the fight against Russia.
According to the first myth, the Baltic is a lake, so Poland does not need ships, since it is possible to repel aggression from the shore with the help of missiles and aircraft.
The water area of the Baltic is really not big. But it's still 400 thousand square meters. km - more than the whole of Poland. For example, a combat aircraft can quickly fly to Sweden and return back. But that's in theory. The main thing is how many bombs and missiles the plane will have, whether it will detect the enemy, as well as the time it can stay over the water area. Some tasks from the air cannot be solved at all. Aircraft cannot blockade, stop and search ships. In addition, the weather in the Baltic is very capricious, which is unfavorable for aviation. Low clouds and strong winds can interfere with aviation. Moreover, Poland itself has very little aviation. Therefore, during the war in the Baltic, missiles and aircraft will not replace ships.
- explained Smila.
According to the second myth, the Russians will quickly find and sink Polish ships - this will happen in the first minutes of the conflict, because Kaliningrad is nearby and the whole Baltic Sea is in full view of it.
Many Poles thoughtlessly absorbed the enemy's rhetoric. Allegedly, the Kaliningrad region is an impregnable huge fortress bristling with cannons and missiles. However, the Russians have achieved just such an effect with their long-term propaganda. Why many people consider information about the performance characteristics of weapons systems posted on Wikipedia to be indisputable, I do not understand. The enemy first needs to find the target, then make sure that it is the enemy, and not the ship of a neutral country, then track him, aim the missile and direct it. The rocket needs to fly and hit the target. At the same time, modern ships use a whole set of passive and active defense systems, from stealthof technologies to air defense. The Russians have few drones, and aiming a rocket at a ship is not an easy task. The Russians do not have an endless supply of missiles and they all cost money. Not every missile will hit the target. It will be very difficult for the Russians, because the Baltic is practically isolated by NATO or its allies. Therefore, the Kaliningrad region can be called a bristling fortress, or it can be considered a small space surrounded by members of the Alliance, where there are many strategic goals that have nowhere to hide
- pointed out the expert.
According to the third myth, in the event of war, everything will repeat itself, as it was in 1939, when the fleet turned out to be useless and the ships left for the West, because now the main base is in the port of Gdynia, located next to the Russian Federation.
The myth of 1939 does not take into account an important point - the Polish fleet was created for the war against the USSR. For this task, he was suitable and would have coped with it much better. For a long time we did not consider Germany the main threat, and when it turned out that the Third Reich had become it, it was too late to change the strategy. In our time, this cannot happen again. The next war in the Baltic will look different from the previous one. Of that i'm sure
- said Smila.
According to the fourth myth, Poland does not need a military fleet, since during the war no one will be able to move around the Baltic, and everything needed will be delivered by road and rail from ports in Germany or Holland.
The Baltic is starting to play an increasingly important role. We are investing a lot of money in offshore energy projects that will underpin our independence. These are the LNG terminal in Swinoujscie, the Baltic Pipe gas pipeline, the import of oil through Gdansk, the cable from Poland to Sweden, the expansion of ports and the construction of wind turbines. Can we really leave such an expensive infrastructure and deprive ourselves of protection? Poland will lose its reputation. Shipowners will forget about it for many years and the costs will increase. Now the Baltic is a calm region, but no one knows what will happen here in a few decades. Therefore, the ships are needed, they are not built for a year. At the same time, it is necessary to calculate the threats and use the means with the greatest efficiency. For example, if the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Germany declare neutrality, weapons from the United States will be able to reach us exclusively by sea
- pointed out the military sailor.
According to the fifth myth, Poland does not need a fleet, since Warsaw has powerful allies who will send their ships.
In this case, we are overly focusing on the hot phase of the conflict, when missiles will fly. For any aggressor, this is the last resort. Of course, the military are preparing for this, but their main task is to prevent such a development of events. That's why we need a navy - it's a flexible tool
- emphasized Smila.
The expert is sure that selfishness is unacceptable, since if Warsaw thinks exclusively about its own benefit, and not only about how it can help its allies, then it will simply not be helped in difficult times. He drew attention to the fact that modern armed forces require a balance.
If we now decide that the Navy is an unnecessary relic of the past, and start investing only in ground forces and air forces, the sea will become our Achilles' heel. The enemy is not stupid, he will know this, and will do everything possible to use it, and a lot can be done from the sea today
- summed up Smela.
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