American defense giant Boeing, together with Polish aviation company Wojskowe Zakłady Lotnicze Nr 1 S.A. (WZL-1) as well as Wojskowe Centralne Biuro Konstrukcyjno-Technologiczne S.A. (WCBKT) defense company, one of the main areas of work of which is ground equipment for aircraft and helicopters, signed an agreement on the implementation of compensatory agreements on industrial cooperation for the implementation of maintenance, repair and ground support of Polish AH-64E Apache helicopters in Poland.
As Boeing reminds, Poland currently ranks 19th among all Apache helicopter operators in terms of quantity, and we are talking about leased aircraft – a total of 8 AH-64D Apache Longbow units, the last of which the Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland received in March this year.
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The lease agreement for these helicopters was concluded in February 2025 – it is designed for 3 years, until the Poles receive the first contracted Apaches in the latest version in 2028, and the lease cost reached $ 300 million. The plan is for Poland to receive aircraft in advance for training pilots and ground personnel.
At the same time, after the contract is completed (Poland purchased a total of 96 AH-64E Apache Guardian helicopters for $10 billion), the country will have the second largest fleet of these aircraft after the United States.
However, Poland's purchase of almost a hundred attack helicopters has caused serious controversy in the country against the backdrop of the truly enormous cost of the deal and discussions about how much they will need such a number of helicopters on the modern battlefield. It is also worth recalling that the contract for the purchase of Apache was signed against the backdrop of other multi-billion dollar agreements for the purchase of weapons and military equipment of various types.
Given the purchase of a huge number of helicopters, one of the largest Apache service centers in Europe is to be built in Poland as part of the agreements with Boeing. In particular, Existing Polish engineering solutions will be evaluated for its creation. Such a center would provide maintenance, repair and overhaul services, as well as repair of individual components.
If Ukraine were to eventually receive Apache helicopters as defense aid or had plans to purchase them, opening a large service center in Poland could be useful for maintaining this type of helicopter.
Instead, Ukraine is currently prioritizing cooperation with Bell; in April, it became known about the creation of a subsidiary, Bell Textron Ukraine, so Ukraine has become one step closer to localizing the AH-1Z Viper and UH-1Y Venom helicopters
.
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