Poland postpones Black Hawk procurement in shakeup of helicopter plans

Poland's plan to acquire up to 32 armed Black Hawk helicopters has been put on hold while it considers its wider rotary requirements. (Lockheed Martin)

Poland has postponed its planned procurement of up to 32 Sikorsky S-70i Black Hawk helicopters as it reassesses its wider requirements vis-à-vis the ongoing war in Ukraine.

Secretary of State at the Ministry of National Defence (MND) Paweł Bejda announced the development on 6 June, saying that while no procurement contract had been cancelled, it had effectively been put on hold while the Polish armed forces reassessed its rotorcraft requirements.

“I would like to tell you that we have not terminated any contract regarding S-70i helicopters. A procedure was conducted and closed. The geopolitical situation, the situation in the east – the war in Ukraine, what Russia is currently buying, equipping its army – and everything that our air forces are carrying out during tasks connected to the NATO system [are] being analysed by the General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces, our pilots, specialists, and experts,” the minister said.

As noted by the Polish MND, this move is part of a wider shakeup of its helicopter plans, with a greater priority now being placed on the acquisition of the 96 Boeing AH-64E Apache Guardian attack helicopters and the 32 Leonardo AW149 multirole helicopters, as well as a new training helicopter needed to instruct its future pilots.

“The priority for the Polish army is currently to acquire a training and combat helicopter to train crews for the AW149 and Apache fleet,” Armed Forces General Command said.

Poland launched its tender for the procurement of Black Hawks in July 2023, weeks after Janes