Poland to buy nearly 100 US Apache helicopters

Polish Defence Minister Mariusz Blaszczak signed an agreement with Lockheed Martin on the purchase of 96 Apache attack military helicopters.

This is reported by Caliber.Az with reference to the Polish Ministry of Defense in social network X.

Pierwsza umowa offsetowa dla śmigłowców uderzeniowych APACHE podpisana
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Minister @mblaszczak: Podpisałem umowę offsetową z firmą Lockheed Martin, która produkuje pewne elementy właśnie helikoptera Apache. Apache to helikoptery uderzeniowe, które zamawiamy do Wojska Polskiego w… pic.twitter.com/hktNcIprjs

— Ministerstwo Obrony Narodowej 🇵🇱 (@MON_GOV_PL) September 25, 2023

The agreement between Poland and Lockheed Martin provides for the purchase of Apache helicopters, as well as the establishment of their maintenance centre on the basis of the WZL-1 plant in the Polish city of Bydgoszcz in the north of the country.

"Soon Poland will have 96 Apache. This will be the largest fleet of these helicopters outside the United States," Blaszczak said.

He added that the first US helicopters are expected in the Polish Army as early as 2024.

Meanwhile, the United States announced the signing of an agreement on a $2 billion loan to support Poland's defence modernization, Caliber.Az reports with reference to the message of the US State Department.

"Poland is a stalwart US Ally, and Poland’s security is vital to the collective defence of NATO’s Eastern Flank," the report said.

The department notes that Warsaw plays a central role in facilitating international assistance to Ukraine and strengthens regional security through significant investments in defence spending.