State Department approves AH-64E Apache sale to Poland, part of $12 billion package

WASHINGTON — The US State Department has signed off on a potential $12 billion sale of military equipment to Poland, including 96 AH-64E Apache attack helicopters and other military equipment.

The announcement, posted on the website Defense Security Cooperation Agency today, does not represent a final sale. Foreign Military Sales (FMS) cases announced like these have been approved by the executive branch for review by Congress; Should the Hill not object, the quantities and dollar values in the deals can change during negotiations with industry.

“This proposed sale will support the foreign policy goals and national security objectives of the United States by improving the security of a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) ally that is a force for political stability and economic progress in Europe,” the DSCA said in its announcement. “The proposed sale will improve Poland’s capability to meet current and future threats by providing a credible force that is capable of deterring adversaries and participating in NATO operations. Poland will have no difficulty absorbing this equipment into its armed forces.”

In 2022, Poland announced plans to acquire the AH-64E Apache attack helicopters after Boeing won its Kruk effort, and that instead of 32 helicopters for two squadrons as expected, Poland was interested in 96 helicopters — six squadrons worth. 

Today’s announcement is another step forward to realizing that vision, and if and when the deal is finalized, Boeing is expected to place the order in its production queue at its Mesa, Ariz facility. Although the State Department did not disclose the timeline for next steps or when those helicopters might be ready for delivery, earlier this year Warsaw said it had reached a deal with Washington to receive eight AH-64E Apache attack helicopters sooner than the rest. 

In addition to those aircraft, today’s $12 billion decision is also for various other military parts and weapons including: 

• 210 T700-GE 701D engines;
• 102 AN/AAR-57 Common Missile Warning Systems;
• 1,844 AGM-114R2 Hellfire missiles;
• 460 AGM-179A Joint Air-to-Ground missiles;
• 508 Stinger 92K Block I missiles;
• 7,650 WGU-59/B Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System II guidance sections;
• At least one manned-unmanned teaming unmanned aerial system (UAS) receiver; and more. 

That possible sale is a continuation of Poland’s massive defense spending spree of the last two years, which has seen Warsaw throw what a top officer told Breaking Defense are proverbial “suitcases with money” at modernizing its military. Among the splashy orders were Abrams tanks, Apache combat helicopters and HIMARS rocket launchers from the United States, South Korean-made K2 tanks, Chunmoo rocket launchers, K9 self-propelled howitzers and FA-50 combat aircraft, and at least two Swedish early warning aircraft to complement additional tethered warning systems.

Aaron Mehta in Washington contributed to this story.