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Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and is published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.
The US ambassador has hailed Poland as “Europe’s new great power”, an “ideal ally” for Washington, and a “model Europe must follow”.
He also praised Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk as a “tough cookie” and “pretty darn good negotiator”, saying that in this regard he is similar to another Donald, US President Trump.
Polacy są twardzi, skuteczni i gotowi walczyć o swoje. pic.twitter.com/nIMBQPG6c3
— Donald Tusk (@donaldtusk) March 23, 2026
Rose’s remarks came during a ceremony on Monday announcing an agreement between US defence giant Lockheed Martin and Polish state defence group PGZ to establish a facility in Poland for servicing Apache helicopters.
The new centre, to be located in Łódź, is linked to a $10 billion deal signed in 2024 for Poland to acquire 96 AH-64E Apache helicopters along with logistics and training support.
Industry news outlet Defence Blog reports the facility would be the first outside the United States capable of independently servicing the aircraft. The first Apache helicopter is expected to be delivered to Poland in mid-2028.
Speaking at the event, Rose noted that the agreement would make Poland the largest Apache operator outside the United States and pointed to the programme as a sign of Poland’s growing strategic importance.
“Poland today is the new great power of Europe. And it is the model Europe must follow. The Polish way must become the European way. America sees it, President Trump values it, and the world respects it,” said the US ambassador.
“President Trump has made it very clear that America is no longer in the position to defend those allies who are unwilling to defend themselves, but you’ll notice there is one country that the president has never uttered an ill word about, and that is Poland,” he added.
That is “because Poland is the ideal ally of the United States. And let me say this: the United States is the ideal ally for Poland”, declared Rose. “Poland is investing in American technology, and America is investing in Poland.”
A historic day for U.S.–Poland defense cooperation: Today in Łódź, two key offset agreements have been signed between @LockheedMartin and Wojskowe Zakłady Lotnicze No. 1 as part of Poland’s purchase of 96 AH-64E Apache helicopters 🇺🇸🇵🇱!
These agreements mark a major step in… pic.twitter.com/gy5StOBnqy— US Embassy Warsaw (@USEmbassyWarsaw) March 23, 2026
The planned Apache servicing centre is part of what is known as an “offset”, meaning that, when an agreement is signed, the contractor agrees to provide some benefit in return to the customer. Rose suggested that this had come about because Tusk, like Trump, is a tough negotiator.
“If anyone in Poland thinks we got away with much in this deal, or any other deal, after having sat across the table with this man, I can assure you, it’s not true,” Rose said, pointing to Tusk, who was also present at the ceremony.
“We have in America a fabulous negotiator, named Donald. And, here in Poland, you’ve got a pretty darn good negotiator yourself, named Donald. He is one tough cookie, as we would say,” added the ambassador.
Tusk himself shared a clip of the remarks on social media, writing that “Poles are tough, effective, and ready to stand up for themselves”.
Poland has signed a $10 billion contract with the US for 96 AH-64E Apache attack helicopters.
The deal will make Poland the second largest user of these helicopters in the world, after only the US itself https://t.co/ugJDfoENj5
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) August 14, 2024
In recent years, Poland has embarked on a huge defence spending spree, in particular since Russia’s full-scale invasion of neighbouring Ukraine. Its defence budget rose to an estimated 4.5% of GDP in 2025 – by far the highest relative level in NATO – and is set to reach 4.8% in 2026.
The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute said in a recent report that Poland has been NATO’s largest arms importer over the past five years, with more than 90% of its equipment coming from South Korea and the United States.
That rise in spending has been overseen by both Tusk’s administration, which came to power in December 2023, and its predecessor, the national-conservative Law and Justice (PiS) government.
Poland has been NATO's biggest importer of arms over the last five years, according to new data from @SIPRIorg.
Over 90% of Polish imports have come from South Korea and the United States https://t.co/jij0nfbhFc
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) March 9, 2026
However, PiS has recently criticised the Tusk government’s plans to take €44 billion in loans for defence spending from the EU’s SAFE programme. It says that this could harm relations with Washington, given that the majority of the funds must be spent in Europe.
The US itself has lobbied against SAFE for the same reason. Last month, Rose confirmed that the US “has concerns” about SAFE, “which we have expressed”.
The ambassador also earlier this year clashed with Poland’s ruling coalition after cutting off ties with the speaker of parliament, Włodzimierz Czarzasty, an ally of Tusk. Rose accused Czarzasty of making “outrageous insults against President Trump”.
In his first interview since cutting ties with Poland's speaker of parliament over his "outrageous insults" against Donald Trump, the US ambassador refused to specify what those insults were.
He says the US remains "Poland’s best ally and greatest friend" https://t.co/wnlfbYLk2k
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) February 10, 2026
Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.
Main image credit: Thomas Rose/X
Alicja Ptak is deputy editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland and a multimedia journalist. She has written for Clean Energy Wire and The Times, and she hosts her own podcast, The Warsaw Wire, on Poland’s economy and energy sector. She previously worked for Reuters.
