The Polish government has decided to cancel the order for the purchase of 32 S-70i multi-purpose helicopters, which are the export version of the American UH-60 Black Hawk.
According to Onet, this was stated by the representative of the Polish Armaments Agency, Grzegorz Polak.
According to him, a "significant change in circumstances" has occurred, as a result of which the procurement procedure for helicopters no longer meets the interests of the army.
He added that the procurement of weapons and equipment is carried out in accordance with the Central Material Plan, which is developed by the General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces.
"It should be remembered that, like any plan, this plan can also be subject to changes, postponements, which is often associated with the prioritization of tasks," Polak said.
He did not specify what exactly caused the cancellation of the order for the supply of S-70i helicopters.
Onet writes that the helicopters were to be manufactured at the PZL Mielec enterprise. It is owned by the American company Lockheed Martin and produces UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters for export.
Earlier, the Polish police received five S-70i helicopters, and another eight machines were manufactured for the needs of the Polish special forces.
It was planned that 32 S-70i helicopters would be ordered for the Polish Land Forces.
At the same time, the Polish army is still expecting the delivery of 96 AH-64D Apache attack helicopters. It is expected that they will begin to enter service with the Polish army in 2028-2032.
According to Business Insider, the cancellation of the order is related to the war of the aggressor country of russia against Ukraine.
Instead of helicopters, the Polish army will likely purchase tanks, communications equipment, and unmanned aerial vehicles that have proven themselves in modern warfare.
Helicopters have shown their vulnerability due to the proliferation of air defense systems. Therefore, they are now forced to stay away from the front line, which has reduced their effectiveness and usefulness.
As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, this fall, Polish residents will be sent manuals with instructions on how to behave in the event of a military conflict.
As we recall, in April it became known that the US had agreed to sell Poland missiles worth USD 1.3 billion.
We also wrote that in March, Poland banned photography of critical infrastructure facilities.
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