The United States will provide Poland with eight Apache helicopters until Poland receives its own machines, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defense Mariusz Błaszczak said Friday after a meeting with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin at the Pentagon. As he added, they are meant to help defend the “Brest Gate”.
American Apache to Poland
The US military will provide Apache helicopters from its own resources before the contract for the purchase of 96 helicopters is signed. This is a very important skill and I am grateful to Secretary Austin for this decision
– said Błaszczak at a press conference at the memorial to the soldiers of the US Marine Corps in Arlington near Washington.
As he explained, the US ground forces will provide Poland with eight machines, the training of Polish pilots will begin in a few weeks, and the helicopters will probably go to eastern Poland next year to strengthen the defenses of the “Brest Gate”.
Why are Apaches important? Because they’re working great with the Abrams, because they’re going to go to the eastern flank of NATO, to the 18th Mechanized Division, to the 1st Air Force Brigade, so they’ll close the +brest gate+ with the Abrams. I talked to Secretary Austin about making an impenetrable dam
– said the head of the Ministry of National Defense.
Last year, Poland expressed a wish for 96 AH-64 Apache helicopters, but the date of possible deliveries is not yet known. Poland has yet to approve the purchase of machines by Congress and the State Department.
Agreements on reciprocity in tenders
As the deputy prime minister informed, during the meeting with Austin he signed an agreement on reciprocity in defense procurement, which should be an opportunity for the Polish defense industry. He noted that previous experiences of cooperation between the two industries were good and pointed, among other things, to the production of F-16 fuselage elements in Mielec and the production of launchers for Patriot air defense systems, which – as Błaszczak said – are highly praised by the Americans.
Now there is a greater opportunity to benefit from this reciprocity and I am sure that the Polish defense industry will take advantage of this opportunity
said the minister.
According to him, the purchase of nearly 500 HIMARS rocket artillery launchers by Poland is also an opportunity for Polish industry. The transactions have been approved by the State Department and Congress and the terms of the deal are currently being negotiated.
This agreement provides for the use of the Polish arms industry. HIMARS launchers will be mounted on Polish Jelcz vehicles, but we are also talking about component production. So it will be a Polish-American investment
Blaszczak said.
He added that the first five of the 20 HIMARS launchers ordered in 2019 will be delivered to Poland in May this year.
Unveiling of a unique mural
During the visit to the Pentagon, a mural was also unveiled on one of the walls of the complex, commemorating the military cooperation between the US and Poland. The mural depicts Tadeusz Kościuszko, Kazimierz Pułaski, as well as US sergeant Michael Ollins, who saved the life of a Polish officer in Afghanistan and paid with his own life.
Błaszczak stated that the talks with Austin also covered NATO’s July summit in Vilnius and the preparation of response plans and increasing defense spending by NATO countries. When asked whether Poland has asked the US for help in identifying the missile found near Bydgoszcz, Błaszczak replied that the prosecutor’s office was investigating the matter. However, he added that he was in close contact with the Americans, and during the December 16 incident, when fighter jets were deployed to track an unidentified target, American aircraft also took part in the operation.
Friday is the second day of the Deputy Prime Minister’s visit to the US. He will head to Chicago on Friday, where he will participate in the Constitution Parade on Saturday and meet representatives of the Illinois National Guard. Later he goes to Canada.
kk/PAP
Source: wPolityce