Agreements Signal Apache Purchase Nearing

The Defense Ministry of Poland has signed offset deals with Boeing and GE worth nearly $255 million. The deals bring the NATO ally closer to its purchase of 96 Apache AH-64E helicopters for $12 biillion, approved by the U.S. in 2023.

Offset deals assist the country buying arms and matériel from abroad by cooperation between foreign suppliers and companies at home. In this case, the Boeing deal is worth $102 million and Poland will be able to cover maintenance support and maintenance training for the Apaches. The GE deal is worth $135 million and is for engine support for the Apaches as well as other Polish military helicopters. Overall, the deals mean some of those funds will be retained by Poland.

The engine deal could turn out to be very good for Poland, as the same engines are used in other helicopters such as the AH-1Z Viper, UH-1Y Venom, UH-60 Black Hawk and its variants, and the European NH90 and W101. The upshot is that Poland could become a significant maintenance hub for those engines.

Pawel Bejda, Poland’s Deputy Defense Minister said, "The Polish Army is about to acquire these helicopters, which will really strengthen our readiness, our security in the face of what is happening beyond the borders of the Republic of Poland, I mean the war in Ukraine.”

FMI:  en.defence-ua.com