A new Apache base in Poland? MoD announcement

Information regarding the new bases is to be provided by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defence, Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, during a press briefing. The event will take place on Monday from 15:00 at Lublin Airport, located right next to the city in Świdnik.

The location of the briefing may suggest that one of the newly announced units will be a Land Forces Aviation base equipped with Apache helicopters. It has been previously reported on several occasions that the fleet of 96 Polish Apache Guardian helicopters is to be stationed across three locations: in Inowrocław (56th Air Base and the home of the 1st Land Forces Aviation Brigade), in Malbork, where MiG-29s are currently stationed but which is set to host a helicopter unit moved from Pruszcz Gdański after their retirement, and indeed in Świdnik near Lublin.

However, while the first two bases are to be established using existing infrastructure, in the case of the third, it will be necessary to form a completely new unit. It is also significant that the concept for the base had to be modified due to the Natura 2000 protected area, and as recently as last summer, the Ministry of National Defence informed in response to a parliamentary inquiry that it had not reached an agreement with Lublin Airport regarding the valuation of the land to be acquired for this investment.

Will the head of the Ministry of National Defence therefore announce the signing of an agreement specifically regarding the Apache base? For now, neither the ministry nor Lublin Airport is commenting on the matter. The issue of new infrastructure for the Apaches is, however, becoming increasingly urgent; while the helicopters delivered initially will likely go to existing bases (Inowrocław, then Malbork), the planned delivery rate is quite rapid. Apaches require dedicated infrastructure and, above all, personnel to be permanently stationed in the Lublin area. Assuming that each base will house 32 aircraft, the Lublin base should be ready by 2030.

When will the Apaches arrive?

It is worth recalling that the Parliamentary National Defence Committee was presented with the following delivery schedule for Apache Guardian helicopters to Poland:

• 15 helicopters in 2028,
• 20 helicopters in 2029,
• 32 helicopters in 2030,
• 21 helicopters in 2031,
• and 8 helicopters in 2032.

Currently, the 1st Land Forces Aviation Brigade, with its headquarters in Inowrocław, operates eight Apache helicopters in the older AH-64D version, leased from the USA under an agreement from March 2023. The Letter of Request for the delivery of 96 AH-64E helicopters was sent between August and September 2022, and in 2023, the transaction was approved by the US State Department and Congress. The contract is worth $10 billion (approx. £7.9 billion), and once fulfilled, Poland will become the second-largest user of Apache Guardian helicopters in the world.