Poland buys 32 attack helicopters from Italy's Leonardo

Poland, a NATO member bordering Ukraine, will buy 32 AW149 multi-role military helicopters worth 1.75 billion euros ($1.83 billion) from Italian arms company Leonardo, its defence minister said Friday.

The Polish military will take delivery of a first batch of helicopters next year, "which matters in the context of the international situation of the Russian aggression in Ukraine," said Mariusz Blaszczak when signing the contract at Leonardo's production site in southeast Poland.

The minister said Poland had ordered a "heavily armed" version of the AW149 equipped with anti-tank missiles.

The contract also provides for training and a set of spare parts and equipment for helicopter maintenance.

In October 2016, Poland's government broke off negotiations with the Airbus group for the purchase of 50 Caracal transport helicopters at the time valued at 3.14 billion euros.

Since then, Warsaw has ordered four S-70i "Black Hawk" transport helicopters from the American Sikorsky corporation and four Leonardo AW101 multi-role helicopters.

Poland, as well as its NATO allies, has been boosting its military forces as it strengthens its defences in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Related Links
Aerospace News at SpaceMart.com

Tweet

Thanks for being there;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.

SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5+ Billed Monthly

paypal only

SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once

credit card or paypal

Chinese airlines buy 292 planes from Airbus for total of $37 bn
Beijing (AFP) July 1, 2022
Four Chinese airlines will buy a total of 292 planes from Airbus in a $37 billion windfall for the aviation giant, the carriers said in separate statements Friday. China Eastern said it had agreed to purchase 100 A320neo jets and China Southern said on the same day that it would buy 96 of the same model. Air China and its subsidiary Shenzhen Airlines also confirmed the purchase of a combined 96 A320neo planes, according to separate filings. The orders come after a bumper year for Airbus, wh ... read more