Polish Defense Ministry Eyes Apache Helicopters

WARSAW, Poland — Poland's Ministry of Defence is aiming to acquire 24 Boeing AH-64 Apache helicopters under its ongoing tender to purchase new combat helos for the Polish Air Force, according to local business daily Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.

The procurement, dubbed the Kruk program, is most likely to be awarded to Boeing prior to the forthcoming NATO summit in Warsaw, which is to be held July 8-9, the daily was told by two sources close to the tender.

"The drafting of tactical-technical requirements was completed, and, by the end of June, a decision regarding the mode of acquiring combat helicopters will be made," ministry spokesman Bartlomiej Misiewicz said.

The forthcoming deal is estimated to be worth between 5 and 6 billion zloty (US $1.3 to $1.6 billion), according to the information obtained by the paper.

The Kruk procurement was launched by Poland's previous government as part of its military modernization program under which some 130 billion zloty was to be spent by 2022 on new weapons and military equipment. However, Polish Defence Minister Antoni Macierewicz recently said the program was underfunded, and that if all of the acquisitions are carried out, the program will total at least 235 billion zloty.

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