Poland has launched negotiations for the acquisition of S-70i Black Hawk helicopters for its armed forces.
The number of aircraft to be bought is not disclosed. However, Lockheed Martin told media houses last month that the Polish military is looking to buy around 32 units.
The S-70i is an export variant of the UH-60M Black Hawk helicopter, produced by Lockheed Martin’s Polish arm PZL Mielec.
“The procurement procedure for multi-role S-70i Black Hawk helicopters for the Aeromobile Forces has begun. An invitation to negotiate was sent today,” the Polish Armaments Agency tweeted last week.
“BlackHawk will be able to cooperate with the currently acquired from WSK PZL Świdnik AW149 and the AH-64E Apache planned to be acquired,” it said.
More Rotorcarft Coming
Warsaw bought 32 Leonardo/ AgustaWestland AW149 multirole helicopters for 1.75 billion euros ($1.83 billion) last year. The aircraft’s first batch is expected to arrive this year.
The NATO member has also requested to purchase 96 Boeing AH-64E Apache attack helicopters from the US.
The country has already loaned an additional eight Apaches from the US, which will start arriving in 2024.
To arm the aircraft, Warsaw is buying 800 anti-armor AGM-114R2 Hellfire missiles from the US.
“We are supplementing the helicopter fleet with more BlackHawk. The Polish Army will soon have a full range of helicopters – Black Hawk, AW149, AW101, and Apache,” the Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Błaszczak wrote on Twitter.
“Training of our soldiers on Apache in the US will begin later this year, and the first machines will arrive in Poland next year.”
Uzupełniamy flotę śmigłowców o kolejne #BlackHawk. Już niebawem Wojsko Polskie będzie dysponowało pełną gamą śmigłowców – Black Hawk, AW149, AW101 i Apache. Szkolenia naszych żołnierzy na Apache w USA rozpoczną się jeszcze w tym roku, a pierwsze maszyny trafią do Polski w… https://t.co/cztAPhxJNE
— Mariusz Błaszczak (@mblaszczak) July 21, 2023