Helicopter Mega-Contract for the Polish Army Soon

Deputy Head of the Armament Agency, Col. Robert Frommholz, announced the plan to sign offset agreements related to the Apache helicopters on Polsat News. Within about two weeks, it is planned that offset agreements related to the program aimed at procuring 96 AH-64E Apache Guardian helicopters for the Polish Armed Forces would be signed. The offset agreements shall be followed by the execution contract for the helicopter delivery. According to assumptions made previously, the agreements to be signed by the Polish Ministry of Defence, and the American partners, will allow for the establishment of maintenance capabilities for the Apache helicopters in Poland. The same applies to the entire family of engines used in other new-generation platforms being introduced into the Polish Armed Forces.

The first offset agreement related to the Apache helicopters was signed in September 2023 with Lockheed Martin. It concerned the diagnostics and verification of potential malfunctions and partial servicing of Longbow fire control radars. However, the finalization of further agreements was delayed because in a recent statement, the Head of the Armament Agency, Brig. General Artur Kuptel, indicated that the contract might not be signed if the offset is not finalized.

Currently, however, everything seems to suggest that the agreements - with Boeing, the helicopter manufacturer, and General Electric, the engine supplier - will be signed soon. The conclusion of the offset agreements is essentially the last step towards finalizing the intergovernmental agreement concerning 96 Apache Guardian helicopters, along with weapons and associated inventory. The full execution contract, covering the procurement of 96 helicopters is likely to be signed shortly after the offset agreements are signed.

The contract for the Apache Guardian helicopters will be the largest in history for the Polish Armed Forces. It will also be one of the largest attack helicopter procurement deals ever signed, overall. According to the Department of State’s notification to Congress, the maximum package would include, among other things:

• 37 AN/APG-78 Longbow radars
• 96 AN/APR-48B MRFI 2 interferometers
• 1,844 AGM-144R2 Hellfire anti-tank missiles
• 460 AGM-179A JAGM anti-tank missiles
• 508 FIM-92K Stinger air-to-air missiles, as well as other weapons, including several thousand light APKWS guided rockets.

Poland was also approved to acquire a wide range of logistic and training support packages for the new helicopters, self-defence systems, MUM-T, etc. The maximum value of the contract for Boeing-manufactured helicopters was estimated at USD 12 billion. The final amount will likely be somewhat lower, but it will still be a very large contract also in terms of cost. Part of the contract may be covered by American loans under the Foreign Military Financing (FMF) programme.

The introduction of 96 Apache Guardian helicopters will represent a significant increase in the capabilities of the Army Aviation, but it will also be a major challenge in terms of training and logistics. The offset defined for the programme should help the Polish user in specific activities related to supporting the Apache fleet, to maintain their readiness. Training of Polish pilots and ground crews on the Apache has already begun and it should be assumed that it will be carried out with the support of the US Army for an extended period. Poland will become the largest user of these helicopters in NATO, being ranked solely behind the United States. Other NATO countries using the Apaches include the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Greece.

Additionally, it is planned that eight AH-64D helicopters will be leased from the US Army to accelerate the capability establishment process in Poland, especially since more than 10 old Mi-24s out of the less than thirty possessed were handed over to Ukraine last year. Col. Frommholz confirmed that the agreement for the lease of eight AH-64D helicopters will be signed in a timeframe that would envisage deliveries happening at the turn of 2024 and 2025, without delays.

The AH-64E Apache Guardian is the latest version of the attack helicopter developed for the US Army. It features, among other things, a Link 16 data link, a new version of the Longbow radar used interchangeably with the MUM-T unmanned assets control system. It also has a reinforced propulsion and features new rotor blades. The Echo variant can use an expanded armament package, including JAGM and Spike NLOS ATGMs (Spike missiles with an extended range). Starting From version 6.5 and upwards, the helicopter also has a new, open modular architecture, which should facilitate the introduction of future upgrades.