On Wednesday, 1 October 2025, the UK-based Babcock International Group and Wojskowe Zakłady Lotnicze No. 1 (WZL-1), part of the Polish Armaments Group (PGZ), signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Warsaw to establish a joint center for the maintenance and support of the Polish Armed Forces’ helicopter fleet, as well as a technical training center aimed at increasing operational readiness and long-term industrial capability.
Photo: Babcock International Group
The agreement follows the Strategic Cooperation Agreement (SCA) signed in early September during the MSPO trade fair in Kielce between the Polish Armaments Group (PGZ) and Babcock, aimed at expanding cooperation in the naval and aviation domains (MSPO 2025: Airbus Helicopters signs a cooperation agreement with PGZ and ITWL).
WZL-1, a PGZ company, and Babcock will work together to develop a solution that will provide the Polish industry with the ability to independently maintain and support modern helicopters, while simultaneously training technical personnel to the highest standards.
Pierre Basquin, Chief Executive of Babcock Aviation, said:
“A fully prepared and ready to deploy helicopter fleet, plays a central role in Poland’s national and international security and together with WZL 1 we will deliver operational excellence and offer a competitive solution that will support Poland’s growing defence capabilities. This partnership marks a significant step forward in strengthening Poland’s defence autonomy and we are proud to work with WZL 1 on this exciting opportunity.”
Photo: Jakub Link-Lenczowski, MILMAG
Let us recall that on 15 May this year, Airbus Helicopters, together with the British company Babcock International and Canada’s CAE Inc., signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on cooperation to offer the Polish Air Force a comprehensive training package consisting of the H145M and related training services, as part of the program to acquire an integrated training system for combat helicopter pilots, which foresees the procurement of 24 training rotorcraft.
On 13 June this year, Babcock International signed another Memorandum of Understanding with the Polish Air Force University (LAW) in Dęblin. It provides for joint R&D projects for the Polish Armed Forces, which will deliver new flight-training scenarios under Babcock’s new training tool, the Babcock Immersive Training Experience (BITE), in connection with the H145M offer.
Meanwhile, on 30 June this year, during the 55th Paris Air Show, WZL-1 and Airbus Helicopters signed a letter of intent on cooperation regarding the H145M.
Babcock already has an established presence in Poland, operating as Babcock Polska in Gdynia and Warsaw, and working closely with the PGZ-Miecznik consortium as the platform design provider and a strategic partner in the Polish Miecznik guided-missile frigate program (Start of construction of Burza, the second Miecznik-class frigate).