On Wednesday, July 24, 2024, Deputy Head of the Armament Agency, Colonel Robert Frommholz, announced in the media that offset agreements will be signed within the next few weeks, followed by the execution contract for the purchase of 96 AH-64E Apache Guardian attack helicopters.
Photos: Jakub Link-Lenczowski, MILMAG
“Success; we are finalizing the offset agreement with our partners, Boeing Defense and General Electric, and we hope to sign the contract. It’s a matter of a few days. Despite prolonged negotiations, the helicopter lease is on schedule – the first AH-64s will arrive in Poland at the turn of the year,” announced Colonel Robert Frommholz on Polsat News.
https://twitter.com/michalstela/status/1816096253505155363
The offset agreement with General Electric is expected to establish capabilities within Poland for servicing CT7-2E1 turboshaft engines of AW149 helicopters, CT7-8E engines of AW101 helicopters, and T700-701D engines of S-70i Black Hawk International and AH-64E Apache Guardian helicopters. Meanwhile, the offset agreement with Boeing will pertain to the servicing of Apache helicopters. Part of the execution contract may be funded through direct loans under the Foreign Military Financing (FMF) program.
Earlier, on July 4th of this year, the Head of the Armament Agency, General Adam Kuptel, said on Polsat News:
“For many months, a document known as the Letter of Acceptance, which is an agreement from the United States, has been sitting on my desk. The possibility of signing this agreement is contingent upon the offset package. We have no issues with two partners. However, we have one partner, namely Boeing, who perhaps does not yet fully understand the complexities involved. I suspect it is due to a lack of experience. I encourage Boeing to follow the paths set by other manufacturers. If an agreement is reached, the contract will be signed immediately.”
https://twitter.com/michalstela/status/1808860420855279686
On March 7th of this year, on the second day of the 7th session of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland, Paweł Bejda, Secretary of State in the Ministry of National Defense responsible for overseeing the technical modernization of the Polish Armed Forces, informed, among other things, about upholding the plans to acquire Apache Guardian helicopters.
On August 21, 2023, the U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) announced that the U.S. Department of State had approved a potential sale of these helicopters to Poland, which, along with the equipment and armament package, was valued at up to $12 billion (49.38 billion PLN at the time). The armament package requested by the Polish Ministry of National Defense includes: 1,844 AGM-114R2 Hellfire II anti-tank guided missiles, 460 AGM-179A JAGM missiles, 508 Stinger 92K Block I anti-aircraft missiles, and 7,650 WGU-59/B APKWS II laser guidance kits for Hydra 70 rockets.
On November 17, 2023, the Armed Forces General Command reported that Polish pilots from the 1st Aviation Brigade, headquartered in Inowrocław, conducted their first training flights on the AH-64E at Fort Novosel in Alabama, USA.
However, before the Polish Army starts receiving the AH-64E, as mentioned by Colonel Frommholz, the country is set to receive 8 AH-64D Apache Longbow helicopters leased from the U.S. Army as an interim capability.
On February 20 of this year, the Ministry of National Defense signed another offset agreement as part of the implementation of Phase II of the Wisła program with Northrop Grumman International Trading, Inc. (part of Northrop Grumman Corporation) for eight commitments, including the establishment of ammunition production in Poland for the Apache helicopters’ onboard weapons.
On September 25, 2023, during the visit to the USA by the then Minister of National Defense Mariusz Błaszczak, an offset agreement was signed, providing for the establishment of a maintenance and repair facility for essential components of these helicopters in Poland. Support for maintenance, repairs, and operations (MRO) will be carried out at Military Aviation Works No. 1 (WZL1) in Łódź, while training will take place at the Military University of Technology in Warsaw.
The introduction of Apache helicopters will allow for the decommissioning of approximately 13 outdated Mi-24D/W helicopters (previously, 12 were transferred to the Ukraine defending against Russian aggression), currently operated at the 49th Air Base in Pruszcz Gdański and the 56th Air Base in Inowrocław. The Mi-24D helicopters were produced between 1981 and 1985, and the Mi-24W helicopters were delivered to Poland in 1986 and one in 1991. The number of Mi-24s in service has decreased from 43 units over the past 20 years. The average age of the currently used helicopters is over 18 years.