MSPO 2025 — Lockheed Martin remains determined to secure a sale of S-70i Black Hawk helicopters to Poland, months after Warsaw decided to cancel a 32 unit acquisition of the utility aircraft after re-examining procurement priorities.
“We’re still committed to providing Polish defense forces with capabilities to include Black Hawk,” Lockheed Martin International President Michael Williamson told Breaking Defense at the MSPO trade show in Kielce. “We understand that the Polish government has priorities and will adjust accordingly, but we want to make sure that we’re making the best capability at the most affordable price available to Polish Defense Forces.”
Warsaw has not indicated any plan to revive the procurement since taking the decision to end it in June, but Williamson noted that Lockheed will “continue to have engagements” with Polish officials about the matter. “I’ve had some positive conversations with them about the future” of a Black Hawk order, he added.
Warsaw will soon approve a new 15-year capability plan, but it remains to be seen if the Black Hawk acquisition will be included.
As Breaking Defense previously reported, Polands’s Araments Agency made the surprise cancellation, judging it necessary with respect to the “needs of the Armed Forces.”
In 2023 the Armaments Agency initially invited Polskie Zakłady Lotnicze (PZL Mielec), also owned by Lockheed Martin, to begin negotiations for the procurement with the US giant’s Sikorsky subsidary. Warsaw has already concluded two Black Hawk orders for Special Operations Forces.
According to PZL company literature, the manufacturer has so far delivered 116 S-70 Black Hawks “in various configurations” to a total of 11 customers.
Separately, Williamson told Breaking Defense that Lockheed is also “having conversations” with Polish industry about in-country “munitions” partnerships, but declined to disclose any specific weapon systems by name.
“I can’t talk to details, but we’re looking for opportunities to partner, not just with our own facility, but also with other industry here in Poland,” he explained.
At a wider level, Lockheed is focused on “looking across Europe” for “opportunities” to expand weapons production, according to Williamson. He specifically highlighted plans forged with Germany’s Rheinmetall in April around missiles and rockets manufacturing.