Poland signs $10 bn deal for US Apache attack helicopters

Poland signed Tuesday a $10 billion deal to buy 96 Apache attack helicopters from US manufacturer Boeing, announcing the latest upgrade to Warsaw's military capabilities.

Poland has sharply accelerated the modernisation of its armed forces after Russia launched a full-scale invasion of neighbouring Ukraine in 2022.

"This is the landmark purchase by Poland for its armed forces of... 96 state-of-the-art AH-64E Apache attack helicopters," Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz told reporters.

The deal is the latest in the string of contracts signed by Polish authorities with the United States in recent days.

On Friday, Warsaw announced a deal to buy hundreds of AIM-120C AMRAAM air-to-air missiles, followed by the contract to build 48 launchers for the US-designed Patriot air defence systems on Monday.

Poland, a staunch ally of Ukraine, has announced it would spend more than four percent of its annual economic output on defence this year -- double NATO's target of two percent.

The Apache helicopter sale was approved last year by the US State Department.

The deal "changes the face of the Polish army's operations and complements" previous purchases, Kosiniak-Kamysz said.

The agreement also envisages providing the Polish army with maintenance equipment, technical and training support, flight simulators, and spare parts.

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