WARSAW, Poland — Defense officials have sent requests for information to six countries for submarine designs for the Polish Orka (Orca) submarine program, as Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s end-of-year deadline nears for picking a winning proposal.

Over the past months, delegations from the Polish ministry have visited France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Sweden, and also met with South Korean officials to discuss their offers and readiness to cooperate with Poland’s defense industry on the potential procurement.

The planned acquisition is deemed urgent here as the Polish Navy relies on a single, outdated Soviet-designed submarine, the Kilo-class ORP Orzel. The new subs are to bolster Poland’s deterrence capacities in the Baltic Sea, as Warsaw plans to equip them with cruise missiles.

During

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