The paper aims to show how offset transactions contribute to an accelerated development of various industries. The author describes the principal guidelines of government policy vis-à-vis offset agreements, showing a framework of relationships between the main forms of offset strategies and the goals of industrial development in both the civilian and defense sectors. Further in the article, the author offers a concise model of technological development spurred by offset transactions. The model is illustrated by numerous examples of offset transactions made in recent years between partners from various regions of the world. The economic effects of offset transactions on industrial development are unclear, the author concludes, but a detailed analysis of specific examples of such transactions may help reveal the basic problems that arise in the course of such projects, along with the long-term implications of poor performance and negotiation mistakes in this area. The paper ends with a brief analysis of Poland’s defense industry and its prospects for the future, including plans to establish a single defense corporation based on the use of new technology secured by Poland under offset agreements signed by the government over the past several years.