European transporters for Poland? MoD declaration

For months, new information has been appearing in the media regarding the Ministry of National Defence’s desire to acquire new transport aircraft for the Polish Air Force. The C-130 Hercules aircraft currently used by the army are ageing rapidly, and the military’s transport needs are growing, partly due to the expansion of combat aviation, hence the search for new models.

One of the options being considered by Poland is the A400M heavy transport aircraft. Next week, an Airbus belonging to the British Royal Air Force (RAF) will land in Warsaw and will be presented to the Polish media.

Will SAFE help?

Interest in purchasing this type of aircraft was confirmed today on Polskie Radio by Deputy Minister of National Defence Paweł Zalewski. “We are interested in purchasing transport aircraft and we are conducting talks in two directions: transport aircraft and air-to-air refuelling aircraft. These are massive aircraft that are absolutely key from the point of view of ensuring the operational capabilities of our air force,” he said in an interview with editor Agnieszka Drążkiewicz.

It should be recalled that during the NATO summit in Ankara in July, Poland signed a letter of intent, in which it committed to closer cooperation (with Belgium, Croatia, Spain, France, Turkey, and the United Kingdom) regarding the potential purchase of a transport aircraft from Airbus.

It is possible that for the potential purchase of these aircraft, Poland will want to use funds from the SAFE programme. According to Paweł Zalewski, in many cases, Warsaw is better prepared to use these funds than most of the other beneficiaries of the programme. This means our country could have a chance to benefit from a hitherto unused pool of funds from the EU mechanism. “Not all countries are as effective in spending these funds, and it turns out there is a certain pool that has not been used,” the deputy head of the defence ministry confirmed. At present – according to Zalewski – talks with the European Commission will be key.

Not only transport aircraft

The latest information is not the only news regarding the possible acquisition of Airbus aircraft for the Polish military. In June, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defence Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz declared that if Airbus has the appropriate production slots and is able to deliver the machines by 2030, Warsaw will decide to purchase four Airbus A330 MRTT aircraft.

In turn, Deputy Minister of National Defence Magdalena Sobkowiak-Czarnecka also stated in June that the purchase of air-to-air refuelling aircraft from Airbus could be made by utilising SAFE and through a joint purchase with Spain.