Poland acquires Black Hawks after canceled helo deal

WARSAW, Poland — Polish Defence Minister Mariusz Blaszczak has signed a deal to acquire four S-70i Black Hawk helos from Lockheed Martin’s offshoot Sikorsky. Under the plan, the copters will be supplied to Poland’s special forces.

The aircraft will be produced by the group’s Polish subsidiary PZL Mielec, with deliveries scheduled to be completed by the end of 2019.

"Together, we achieved success, because the Polish Armed Forces will operate these helicopters. We acquired them at a good price," Blaszczak said Jan. 25 at the official signing ceremony.

RELATED

Poland makes official request for US rocket launchers

Poland's plans to expedite its purchase of the American-made High Mobility Artillery Rocket System moves forward, as the country has sent an official letter of request to the U.S. government to proceed with the sale.

By Jen Judson

The contract for aircraft with related logistics, equipment and training packages is worth a total of 683.4 million zloty (US $180.7 million), the ministry said in a statement.

The helos were acquired outside of a tender procedure. In 2015, the then-Polish Cabinet decided to order 50 H225M Caracal copters from Airbus, but the deal was scrapped the following year after a change in government. The canceled contract was estimated to be worth about 13.5 billion zloty. Other forerunners in the tender included the Black Hawk and Leonardo’s offshoot PZL Swidnik, which makes the AW149.

In 2017, the ministry launched a new tender to acquire eight copters for the special forces.

“This is the first phase of the cooperation between the Polish Armed Forces and PZL Mielec,” Blaszczak said.

More In Europe

Pentagon technology hub sees lower transition rate, higher value deals

In its annual report, DIU said that while transitions dropped last year, the organization also facilitated its largest follow-on contract to date.

Northrop’s colossal Manta Ray underwater drone passes at-sea tests

“I think it is striking in its size and scale, even for those folks that have been there throughout the design process.”

Ukraine comms struggles spur European hunger for L3Harris radios

Reliable, low-profile means of relaying battlefield information have become a linchpin for fighting in Eastern Europe.

Space acquisitions chief wants more authority to blacklist contractors

Frank Calvelli told lawmakers that while the Contractor Responsibility Watch List is a helpful tool, he'd like to see its authorities expanded.

Marine Corps eyeing more recon boats from Australian ‘Whiskey Project’

A Multi-Mission Reconnaissance Craft was photographed at the Army’s Project Convergence Capstone 4 earlier this year.