Poland Gets U.S.’ Thumbs up to Buy AH-64E Apache Choppers for $12B

The United States on Monday approved the sale of 96 AH-64E Apache helicopters and related equipment to Poland for an estimated cost of $12 billion.

The Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale today.

Poland’s deputy prime minister and defense minister Mariusz Błaszczak revealed on “X” in July that Warsaw is buying 96 Apaches for six squadrons. “We will equip Polish armed forces with 96 such helicopters, and the army will use 8 Apaches before the contract is implemented,” Błaszczak said.

A letter of request was sent to the U.S. government around the same time last year.

Błaszczak said back then that the helicopters will first be deployed to the 18th Mechanized Division. “Not all of them, but the first units. This is because the 18th Division will be equipped with the Abrams tanks. These helicopters work great with Abrams tank[s].”

In April 2022, Poland signed a deal for worth roughly $4.75 billion to procure 250 M1A2 Abrams SEPv3 tanks, and a subsequent $1.4 billion deal was inked in January for an unspecified amount of additional tanks.

The FMS sale announced today will cover 96 AH-64E Apache Attack Helicopters; 210 T700-GE 701D engines; AN/ASQ-170 Modernized Target Acquisition and Designation Sight/AN/AAR-11 Modernized Pilot Night Vision Sensors (M-TADS/PNVS); AN/APG-78 Fire Control Radars (FCR) Mast Mounted Assembly (MMA); Longbow Fire Control Radar (FCR) Radar Electronic Units (REU); 1,844 AGM-114R2 Hellfire Missiles; 460 AGM-179A Joint Air-to-Ground Missiles (JAGM); 508 Stinger 92K Block I Missiles; and other related equipment and support.

“This proposed sale will support the foreign policy goals and national security objectives of the United States by improving the security of a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Ally that is a force for political stability and economic progress in Europe,” the U.S. State Department said in an official release while announcing its approval. “The proposed sale will improve Poland’s capability to meet current and future threats by providing a credible force that is capable of deterring adversaries and participating in NATO operations.”

The principal contractors will be Boeing, Mesa, AZ, and Lockheed Martin, Orlando, FL. The purchaser has requested offsets.