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Poland’s government has signed the largest-ever export deal for Boeing’s Apache attack helicopter.
Warsaw will have the biggest AH-64E Apache fleet outside that of the U.S. Army upon completion of the mega-order for 96 aircraft signed on Aug. 13.
The 40 billion Polish zloty ($10 billion) Foreign Military Sale (FMS) also includes a package of weapons including Hellfire and Joint Air-to-Ground Missiles (JAGM), spares, training and associated equipment.
It appears Warsaw has been able to shave some $2 billion off the original $12 billion price tag detailed by the U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) following U.S. State Department approval for the sale last August.
Deliveries are planned for 2028-2032. The Apaches will replace Poland’s Soviet-era Mil Mi-24 “Hind” gunships and will be based at Inowrocław, Świdnik and Malbork.
Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, Poland’s deputy prime minister and minister for national defense, said the Apaches order was an “epochal change” for the modernization and development of helicopter aviation within the Polish Armed Forces.
“This is an agreement that changes the face of aviation, changes the face of the functioning of the Polish army,” Kosiniak-Kamysz told the audience at the Letter of Offer and Acceptance signing ceremony at Inowrocław in front of two U.S. Army Apaches currently based in Poland.
Warsaw’s previous government selected the Apache in September 2022 to meet the needs of its long-running Kruk program to replace the Hind fleet, choosing the Boeing-made aircraft over Bell’s AH-1Z Viper.
Procurement officials say the Apache’s ability to work together with the Abrams main battle tank, which Poland is also acquiring, helped swing the selection in favor of the Boeing-made rotorcraft.
Warsaw originally planned for the Kruk program to replace the Hinds on a one-for-one basis, totaling around 24 aircraft. But following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, Poland decided to nearly quadruple the order to 96—nearly double the size of the UK’s fleet of 50 Apaches, which is currently the largest fleet outside the U.S.
The Polish order is commensurate with Poland’s wider defense ambitions. Warsaw has also ordered hundreds of main battle tanks and rocket artillery systems in addition to new combat aircraft and battlefield utility helicopters as part of a bid to deter a potential Russian aggressor and finally rid itself of Soviet-era equipment that has been in service since the end of the Cold War.
“The AH-64E Apache helicopters will strengthen Poland’s operational capability and interoperability with the U.S., NATO and allied nations. We look forward to delivering this unmatched capability,” says Vince Logsdon, vice president for international business development for Boeing Defense. Boeing notes that the deal is also the largest FMS order in the history of Boeing’s Vertical Lift division.
Despite suggestions that the proposed order could be scaled back by Poland’s centrist Civic Platform government following elections last October, the government has stuck with many of the defense acquisitions begun by its predecessors.
Warsaw has already secured several offset deals with Apache suppliers. Poland’s Military Aviation Works WZL-1 in Deblin and Military University of Technology in Warsaw (WAT) will provide MRO support to the GE Aerospace T700 engines powering not only the Apaches but also Poland’s Sikorsky S-70i Black Hawks, Leonardo AW149s and AW101s. WZL-1 will also service and maintain the Longbow radars that will equip the helicopters. WZL-1 also has secured work from Boeing to carry out inspections, repair and overhaul of selected AH-64E components, train AH-64E technical service staff at WAT and assess Aircraft Ground Support equipment manufactured by Polish firm WBCKT in terms of their compatibility with AH-64E helicopters.
Prior to delivery, the U.S. Army will supply around eight Apaches to support initial training for personnel. As part of this effort, the first Polish pilots and engineers have already completed training in the U.S., officials say.
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