Poland Refuses to Purchase 32 Locally Produced Black Hawk Helicopters

The Polish Armament Group (PGZ) has officially terminated the procurement process for 32 S-70i Black Hawk helicopters, produced domestically at the PZL Mielec facility, a subsidiary of Lockheed Martin Corporation.

Defence24.pl reported on this.

The acquisition procedure, initiated in 2023 to fulfill the requirements of the 6th Airborne Brigade (Poland’s airmobile forces), has now been discontinued.

In an interview with the publication, the agency’s spokesperson, Colonel Grzegorz Polak, provided information regarding the reasons for canceling the procurement:

“Given the dynamically changing geopolitical situation and emerging threats, it is natural to optimize and adjust procurement priorities in accordance with the current needs of the Armed Forces. Within the framework of the Material Requirements Planning, the acquisition of these 32 helicopters has been postponed,” he stated.

The publication explained that the Armament Group carried out the procurement process for the military based on the Material Requirements Planning (MRP), including the Technical Modernization Plan, which, in turn, is derived from the Armed Forces Development Program.

These documents are prepared and updated by the General Staff, which determines the direction for the development of the capabilities of the Polish Armed Forces.

Based on these changes to the documents, it was decided to postpone the helicopter procurement and reallocate financial resources to other needs.

According to the spokesperson for the Armament Group, it can be assumed that the shift in priorities was related to new threats on the battlefield.

“Practically, it can mean that the General Staff has recognized that, due to technological developments and combat conditions, there are more urgent tasks to be addressed in the short term than the acquisition of these helicopters,” Defence24.pl suggests.

The procurement of locally produced S-70i Black Hawk helicopters for the airmobile forces was intended to enable them to perform both combat and logistical missions. They were also expected to operate in coordination with the AH-64E Apache Guardian attack helicopters, which Poland ordered from the United States.

Sikorsky S-70i is an export variant of the Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk, manufactured in Poland at the PZL Mielec plant. This facility is one of the largest aviation manufacturers in the country and the largest production site of Lockheed Martin outside the United States.