The Armament Agency – responsible for procuring equipment for the Polish Armed Forces – has cancelled the tender for the purchase of 32 additional S-70i Black Hawk helicopters from PZL Mielec for the military. The explanation given is rather vague, citing merely an issue of “priorities.”
“This is yet another very bad piece of news for the Polish defense industry,” commented Michał Jach, former chairman of the Parliamentary National Defense Committee, in an interview with Niezalezna.pl.
The media reported this morning that the procurement of 32 strategic S-70i Black Hawk helicopters from the PZL Mielec plant had been officially cancelled.
The S-70i helicopters are the export variant of the well-known multi-role Black Hawk, produced at the PZL Mielec facility owned by Lockheed Martin. The Mielec plant supplies these aircraft to both foreign markets and Polish entities, including the Police – which has received five units – and the Special Forces, which had taken delivery of eight helicopters by 2024.
The plan had been to acquire 32 more Black Hawks for the Land Forces, where they would operate alongside the Apache attack helicopters ordered last year. However, this procurement has now been officially annulled.
The cancellation was confirmed by Lieutenant Colonel Grzegorz Polak, spokesperson for the Armament Agency. What is the stated reasoning? “There has been a significant change in circumstances, making the continuation of the proceedings or execution of the contract contrary to the public interest – a situation that could not have been foreseen.”
It was further stated that the Agency “must prioritize those tasks which are of the highest importance to the armed forces at any given time.”
Jach to Niezalezna.pl: “They Simply Don’t Have the Money”
Michał Jach, former chairman of the parliamentary defense committee, shared his thoughts on the matter with Niezalezna.pl. In his view, “The Armament Agency is offering the kind of bureaucratic doublespeak typical of Civic Platform.”
“It’s obvious that the need for this equipment is urgent, as the Polish military requires rapid and extensive modernization. What’s likely happening here is straightforward – a lack of funds. This government has no money for anything. That’s why it’s repeating what Donald Tusk did during his previous eight years in power: cutting defense spending. The domestic defense industry was supposed to benefit from these contracts – industries that pay taxes in Poland. But Poles won’t see those profits because the government cannot manage the budget. Last year, they returned 20 billion zlotys to the state budget – and now, as we can see, they’re again trying to cut defense expenditures,”
he said.
Jach added: “I’ve especially noticed that the Minister of Defense is constantly playing games. In November, he said he would spend 100% of the defense budget. A month later, it turns out he returned 20 billion.”
According to Jach, attention should also be paid to the European Union’s defense procurement policies.
He concluded: “This is an unimaginable scandal. Our factories – which employ thousands of people – may soon be facing the threat of bankruptcy…”