The Leonardo AW101 helicopter. Image: Leonardo
The Polish Ministry of National Defence has signed an offset agreement with Leonardo MW in the UK in preparation for the expected delivery of AW101 helicopters. The offset deal precedes the finalised order, worth 400-million zloty (€90-million), which will be signed later this month.
The planned order has been confirmed by the Polish defence minister Mariusz Blaszczak and the helicopters are to be configured for anti-submarine warfare duties with the Polish navy. Mr Blaszczak added that the 15-tonne AW101 helicopters will also be able to perform combat search and rescue missions.
The helicopters will be assembled at Leonardo's manufacturing plant in Yeovil, UK.
"The Offset Agreement provides the Polish Ministry of National Defence with the commitment for establishing in the Military Aviation Works No.1 in Łódź, part of the Polish Armaments Group (PGZ), critical maintenance capabilities for the AW101 helicopters and its dedicated mission equipment," said a statement by Leonardo MW. The statement added that the deal confirmed Leonardo's "commitment to a solid and long-term cooperation with the Polish Armed Forces and Polish industry."
The Gdańsk Technical University is also to be a beneficiary of the deal, according to Leonardo.
According to Cirium's Fleet Analyzer, the current active fleet of AW101s totals 149, used in various countries including Algeria, Canada, Denmark, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Nigeria, Norway, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Turkmenistan and the UK.
The purchase follows an order earlier this year by the Polish Ministry of National Defence to acquire four S-70i Black Hawk helicopters from Sikorsky, to be used in support of special forces operations.
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