Poland signs deal to spend $240M on US Apache helicopters

By Jo Harper

WARSAW (AA) - Poland’s Deputy Minister of National Defense Paweł Bejda on Monday signed two offset agreements worth a combined $240 million with Boeing and General Electric to purchase AH-64E Apache helicopters.

The agreement with Boeing is worth approximately $95 million and with General Electric $145m.

"This is an extraordinary opportunity for the region (...) and also for the Military University of Technology," Bejda told a press conference in Warsaw.

The contracts provide for the repair of components at WZL 1 in the Polish cities of Lodz and Deblin, as well as training engineers to service helicopters.

Bejda also thanked the US Congress after it voted to start negotiations to acquire the helicopters last year. Boeing AH-64E Apache helicopters are the basic attack helicopters that have been used by the US Army since the 1980s.