Ex-communist Poland's choice of 48 new F-16 fighter jets last week crowned a year of efforts to come up to the standards of the NATO military alliance, which it joined three years ago.

"It was a difficult but promising year. We managed to finalise several tenders which will greatly improve our technical capacities in the years to come," defence ministry spokesman Eugeniusz Mleczak said.

Last week Warsaw announced that US Lockheed Martin F-16 fighter jets had been selected for a 3.5 billion dollar (euro) contract to replace its obsolete Soviet-built Mig-21 and Mig-29 fleet.

NATO has welcomed the decision from a country which has struggled to come up to alliance standards since crossing the threshold as part of a three-country avant-garde of ex-communist countries in 1999.

"It was for a long time one of the priorities of the Polish government. The fact of having taken a decision, of having taken this important step, it is certainly a positive act," NATO spokesman Robert Pszczel told PAP news agency from Brussels on Friday.

Just a week earlier Poland also chose Finland's Patria Vehicles Oy for a 1.2 billion euro contract to supply 690 armoured transport vehicles for its army.

Then earlier this year 128 second-hand Leopard II assault tanks rolled in from neighbouring Germany to equip the army.

"This new material places Poland among the core NATO countries. It allows us to avoid the position of second class member, that of a country which has not reached NATO standards and which remains incapable of taking part in its international operations," Mleczak told AFP.

"In taking us in (in 1999) the NATO partners gave us full rights within the alliance. But we are well aware that our real position does not just depend on us," he said.

"We have had to start to fill the gap which was becoming more and more serious since we decided to abandon the Soviet military material," deputy defence minister Janusz Zemke said when he announced Poland's choice.

While waiting the F-16 delivery, Warsaw signed in September an accord with Russia to repair its Mig-29 fighter planes, of which half, for want of replacement parts, have been grounded for several years.

Poland's air force will also take delivery next year of the first of eight Spanish CASA personnel carriers.

As well as receiving second hand assault tanks from Germany, the army also received tens of thousands of shells, rocket launchers and command vehicles, as well as transporters and technical maintenance vehicles from the neighbouring country.

And all at a bargain price. With the material valued at 1.5 billion zlotys (370 million euros), Poland will only shell out 22 million euros over several years.

Poland was also given three American ships, including a logistical support ship and two frigates, in order to boost its maritime forces.

"The purchase of this material will allow us to reorganise in depth the structures of the Polish army. It is our objective for the years 2003-2008," Mleczak said.

And what next for 2003?

Poland intends to overhaul its air defence system with the help of new radar stations and air command centres.

It will also continue a large restructuring programme which will see the number of troops slashed to 150 000 by the end of next year against 160 000 at the moment and 450 000 10 years ago.

With acknowledgement to Sapa-AFP and BC-Poland-Military.