As stated by the Minister of Defence of Poland, the new AW101 helicopters will replace the fleet of aging Soviet-era helicopters currently operated by the Polish Armed Forces (Mi-8 and Mi-17).
In 2019, Poland signed a contract for four AW101 helicopters intended for the Polish Navy. A few days ago, the first of them arrived in Poland and, following the final round of tests, it will be officially handed over to the military in the coming months.
This contract was valued at over EUR 380 million.
Furthermore, in July 2022, Poland signed a EUR 1.76 billion contract for 32 AW149 helicopters with deliveries expected in the 2023-2029 period. These helicopters will be armed with Hellfire anti-tank missiles, which Poland has already contracted from the United States. According to Leonardo, the AW149 helicopters for the Polish Armed Forces will be manufactured at the Poland-based production facility PZL Świdnik.
Poland also intends to procure 96 AH-64E Apache helicopters from Boeing. Warsaw has already submitted the Letter of Request (LoR) to Washington for this procurement.
