Contract for Polish Army Aviation AW149s approved
On 1 July 2022, the Deputy Prime minister and the head of the National Defence Department, Mariusz Błaszczak, approved a contract for the manufacturing and delivery of 32 AW149 medium-lift multi-role military helicopter together with a package of logistic services, spare parts and equipment for ground handling of the helicopters.
The new helicopters will be manufactured at PZL Świdnik and the value of this contract is €1,8 billion Euro’s (8,25 billion PLN).
The AW149s will be delivered to the 25 Brygada Kawalerii Powietrznej (25th Air Cavalry Brigade) of the Lotnictwo Wojsk Ladowych (LWL, Polish Army Aviation) where they will replace the ageing Mil Mi-8 and Mil Mi-17 helicopters as well as the Sokół W-3. Delivery of the first AW149 is scheduled for 2023 and deliveries will continue to 2029.
The original programme, named "Perkoz", was intended to replace the ageing Mil Mi-2 helicopters, but somewhere in 2020, the requirements were changed and the programme focussed on the more heavier helicopters. It looks like the Mi-2 will be phased out in 2025 without a successor.
Next to Mariusz Błaszczak, the minister of State Assets, Jacek Sasin, attended the official meeting at PZL Świdnik. According to the official statements: “The most important thing is that modern helicopters will be used to equip the Polish Ground Forces. The fact that the first helicopters will be released next year is most important in the context of the current situation in Ukraine right across our eastern border. It was decided to accelerate the process of modernising the Polish Army and equip it with modern weapons. The AW149s will be used for troop transport, air support and for evacuation or search operations. An unspecified number of AW149s will be equipped with guided anti-tank missiles”.
On 16 June 2022, Scramble Magazine reported on this soon to be signed agreement. At that time it was not yet revealed if the helicopters would be delivered to the army and/or the air force.
Image by Polish Ministry of Defence (MoD)