Poland announced plans to buy more Black Hawks, but how many more will be coming?

WARSAW — Poland has taken a major step forward in procuring a new fleet of Black Hawk helicopters, the government here announced on July 21. But just how many rotorcraft Poland wants, the associated cost, and whether Poland will seek even more Black Hawks in the future all remain open questions.

Poland’s armaments agency announced via Twitter that it had sent an invitation to Polskie Zakłady Lotnicze (PZL Mielec) — owned by Lockheed Martin, the producer of the Black Hawk through its Sikorsky subsidiary — to begin “negotiations” on buying more of the multi-role helicopters for use by the Polish Wojska Aeromobilne (Aeromobile Forces).

According to the agency’s tweet, the Black Hawks “will be able to cooperate with the AW149 acquired from WSK PZL Świdnik and the AH-64E Apache planned to be acquired.”

The S-70i configuration comes with capabilities for conducting special air operations as well as other equipment designed for special operations use. Black Hawks come standard with communications and data exchange equipment in accordance with NATO systems, meaning Poland should be able to easily accept them into operational use.

The announcement represents the third tranche of Black Hawks procured by Poland’s military, which is in the midst of an unprecedented modernization effort for its military. However, this is the first procurement for the Aeromobile Forces, as the previous efforts were for special operations use only.

In January 2019 the MND placed an order for four S-70i Black Hawk models, priced for 683.4 million Zloty ($170 million), for use by the Wojska Specjalne, or Special Operations Forces. All four aircraft were delivered before the end of the year. Then in September 2021, Poland’s MND decided to order another four S-70is for SOF use, at the slightly cheaper total of 666 million Zlotys ($165.3 million), with delivery in the 2023-2024 timeframe.

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The Polish National Police have also procured the rotorcraft, having finalized a contract last December two S-70i helicopters, which will increase its fleet of Black Hawks to five by the end of 2024. The expanded fleet will fulfill important missions including counter-terrorism activities, search and rescue, and firefighting.

Details of how many helicopters and the cost for this third MND tranche have not been released, but estimates are that Poland could look to acquire up to eight more, bringing them to a full squadron of 16 Black Hawks overall.

It is believed the S-70is procured under this new deal will be in the armed Black Hawk standard configuration, which is different than the special operations systems. The armed variant can carry the Wing Armed Pylon Station (WASP), designed and built by Polish engineers, which can be mounted without structural modifications to the rotorcraft. In 2019, PZL Mielec exhibited an S-70i Armed Black Hawk with door-mounted M134 miniguns, Lockheed Martin AGM-114 Hellfire and JAGM air-to-surface missiles and an FN Herstal M3M 12.7mm door gun. Other options included the Polish-developed WKM-Bm 12.7mm machine gun, Hydra 70 rocket launcher, Elbit Systems Spike-family air-to-air surface missiles and GATR laser-guided rockets, or external fuel tanks.

Radosław Groński, PZL Mielec chief design engineer, stressed during a media tour last month that it would be easy to convert any future S-70i buys into the armed variant. “After design and certification is completed and material [in] stock, S-70i could be converted into an armed helicopter in several months, so we can provide [a] weaponized variant for Army. We are working with suppliers of weapons [to] integrate it and deliver,” he said.

The agency announcement caught observers by surprise, given the choice in July 2022 to procure 32 AW149 multi-role helicopters, produced by the Leonardo-owned PZL-Świdnik subsidiary.

The AW149 contract, worth 8.25 billion zlotys ($2.05 billion), was announced during an official ceremony held at PZL-Świdnik’s facility, in the presence of representatives of the Polish government. Deliveries of the AW149 will be made in the 2023-2029 period, with the first pair expected to be delivered soon followed by the next six in 2024. It is expected the helicopter will replace the W-3 Sokol, used by the Aeromobile Forces’ 25th Air Cavalry Brigade.

Given similarities between the two mission sets, at first glance it seems odd to also now buy more Black Hawks. However, in a media tour of its plant last month, executives from PZL Mielec seemed optimistic there would be room for further Black Hawks in Poland’s inventory.

Marek Chojecki, PZL Mielec sales and business development manager, noted how “The US Forces were always using the Apache’s and the Black Hawks together, so we think that there’s a place for us. There are two OEM helicopter manufacturers in Poland [Leonardo-owned PZL-Świdnik and PZL Mielec] and [the] Polish government can use both of them for deliveries.”

There is at least some expectation among observers that Poland will eventually end up with 32 total Black Hawks in the Aeromobile Forces, in order to have a matching number with the AW149s. How Poland decides to move towards that number — larger buys or a series of smaller buys — and whether more SOF buys are in the future remains to be seen.

2nd Corps Created For US Integration

On the same day as the Black Hawk announcement, Polish defense minister Mariusz Błaszczak visited the 21st Central Air Force Training Ground in Nadarzyce. While there, he appointed Maj. Gen. Adam Joks to the position of commander of the Polish Land Forces Corps, with the appointment starting Aug. 1.

“I want to use the experience of Gen. Joks, which he has gained so far in the 5th Corps. This tactical unit commands the entire US Army on NATO’s eastern flank,” Błaszczak explained, referencing Jok’s role as the first Polish Deputy Commanding General assigned to V Corps. The minister also announced that Jok will be standing up a 2nd Corps, specifically to better integrate with the US.

The 2nd Polish Corps will be organized on V Corps model, and structures of the emerging formation will include an element of the air force associated with Apache helicopters. The corps will play a key role in conducting a possible national and allied defense operation of Poland.

It is expected the newly announced 2nd Corps will include part of Poland’s incoming AH-64E fleet, which are set to begin delivery soon. During this visit Błaszczak announced also that “at the beginning of August Polish pilots will start training on Apache helicopters. Immediately after the end of the training, the first 8 machines will be equipped with the Polish Army.”

One thing that is clear is that Poland wants both its AH-64E and AW149 — and, perhaps, the new Black Hawks — to be armed with US-made Hellfire missiles. This March, the US State Department cleared a potential sale of 800 AGM-114R2 Hellfires with an estimated cost of $150 million.

Delivery of the Hellfire will start this year and will last till 2029, according to the Armament Agency, which said in a release that “70% of the missiles are to go to the Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland to the first half of 2026.”