Poland buys 32 multi-role helicopters from Italy’s arms Company

• Poland will purchase 32 AW149 multi-role military helicopters from Italian arms company Leonardo.
• Poland has been beefing up its military forces in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
• It has also ordered four American Sikorsky S-70i “Black Hawk” transport helicopters and four Leonardo AW101 choppers.

Poland, a NATO member bordering Ukraine, will purchase 32 AW149 multi-role military helicopters from Italian arms company Leonardo for 1.75 billion euros ($1.83 billion), its defense minister announced Friday.

The Polish military will receive the first batch of helicopters next year, “which matters in the context of the international situation of Russian aggression in Ukraine,” said Mariusz Blaszczak during the contract signing ceremony at Leonardo’s production site in southeast Poland.

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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.

Warsaw has since ordered four American Sikorsky S-70i “Black Hawk” transport helicopters and four Leonardo AW101 multi-role helicopters.

Poland, along with its NATO allies, has been beefing up its military forces in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

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