(Bloomberg) -- Poland signed a $10 billion agreement to purchase almost a hundred AH-64E Apache attack helicopters from US manufacturer Boeing Co., as Warsaw ramps up its defensive capabilities.
The deal for the 96 US-made helicopters, signed on Tuesday, amounts to the most expensive military purchase undertaken by the Polish government.
“Today’s agreement changes the face of aviation, air forces, the functioning of the Polish army,” Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said a military airport in the central town of Inowroclaw. “Helicopters, drones and tanks are the future of the Polish army.”
The contract is part of Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s package of investments designed to strengthen Warsaw’s ability to deter potential aggression. The nation plans to strengthen its defenses along its 700-kilometer (435-mile) long border with Russia and Belarus and has urged the EU to set up a European air-defense shield as Moscow continues to wage its war against neighboring Ukraine.
Tuesday’s deal also provides for logistical support, such as airport and hangar equipment and a supply of ammunition and spare parts for the helicopters.
The groundwork for Warsaw’s latest move to bolster its army aviation was laid last year when the Polish and US governments reached an agreement for training pilots and engineers for the AH—64E Apache.
Earlier this week, Poland signed a $1.2 billion agreement with Raytheon Technologies Corp. to produce produce 48 Patriot M903 launch stations.
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