Poland signs $10 billion deal with US for 96 Apache attack helicopters

Poland has signed a $10 billion (39 billion zloty) contract with the US for 96 AH-64E Apache attack helicopters, along with a logistics and training package and a stockpile of ammunition and spare parts.

The deal will make Poland the second largest user of these helicopters in the world, after only the US itself. It continues a military procurement spree launched by Warsaw after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, with Poland set to spend 4.12% of GDP on defence this year, the highest figure in NATO.

“This is an agreement that changes the face of aviation, changes the face of the functioning of the Polish armed forces, and is part of the complement to the [other] purchases that are taking place,” said Polish defence minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz at Tuesday’s signing ceremony.

Kosiniak-Kamysz announced that the helicopters will be deployed in Inowrocław, Malbork and Świdnik, where a new base will be established, adding that 20 flying and ground crew will already be prepared this year.

According to industry news service Defence24, the flying staff alone for the 96 helicopters purchased will reach around 400 people, as four trained pilots are optimally needed per helicopter.

The helicopters, which are going to be equipped with state-of-the-art Apache Guardian radars, will be introduced to the Polish armed forces in batches between 2028 and 2032 and will replace the post-Soviet Mi-24 attack helicopters.

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As part of the agreement, the US will provide logistics including maintenance and airfield/hangar equipment and technical support, while the training package includes specialised training for pilots and technical personnel, among other things.

This contract was preceded by offset agreements with US defence firms Lockheed Martin, Boeing and General Electric Company that provide for the acquisition of a range of technologies related to the helicopters, reported Defence24.

At the signing ceremony, Kosiniak-Kamysz thanked the Polish people for supporting high defence spending. “This is a practical insurance of safety,” he said. “The military is to be ready for war, to defend itself if the need should arise. Politicians are to do everything to make peace reign, to make peace prevail.”

He also thanked US President Joe Biden, Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin and US Ambassador to Poland Marek Brzezinski, who was present at the signing.

Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Poland has bought thousands of tanks, self-propelled howitzers, combat aircraf, and rocket artillery launchers, as well as new air defence systems. The majority of those deals were signed with the US and South Korea.

The spending spree began under the former Law and Justice (PiS) government but has now continued under the new administration, led by Donald Tusk, that took power in December 2023.

Main image credit: Tomás Del Coro/Wikimedia Commons (under CC BY-SA 2.0)

Alicja Ptak

Alicja Ptak is senior editor at Notes from Poland and a multimedia journalist. She previously worked for Reuters.