General Electric Aerospace (GEA) the Polish defence ministry have finalised an offset agreement that will allow the state to maitain the T700 engines it will use to power its forthcoming Apache AH-64E helicopters.
Ahead of the delivery of 96 rotorcraft units and 210 T700 engines, which the US State Department approved in 2023, Polish industry must acquire the necessary infrastructure needed to maintain the $12bn (47.4bn zlotys) American-made fleet.
Such equipment includes engine maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) technology, training, and technical assistance. Military Aviation Works (MAW) in Dęblin – a state-owned company within the PGZ group – and the Military University of Technology (MUT) in Warsaw have been selected to perform this work on Polish soil.
Under the agreement, MAW will provide licensed MRO support for the T700 engines on the Apache as well as the Sikorsky S-70i Black Hawk, and Leonardo AW149 and AW101 helicopters that are in the Polish Armed Forces aircraft fleet.
Meanwhile, MUT will manage training, including T700 engine training, for Polish technicians, military personnel, and MAW staff who will support the helicopter fleet operating in the Polish Armed Forces as well as preparing future engineering staff.
According the GEA, the T700 family of turboshaft and turboprop engines power 15 types of helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft with more than 130 customers in more than 50 countries.
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By GlobalDataUS-Polish defence cooperation
GlobalData intelligence shows that Poland’s current rotorcraft models are all vestiges of its past as a Warsaw Pact state, with all four coming from Russia between 1987 and 1989.
The Apache is one of many programmes that shows Poland’s dedication to the trans-atlantic alliance and its relatively new western ties.
Just a month after the US approved the Apache sale, the Polish government entered into its forst Apache-related offset arrangement with Lockheed Martin. This gave Polish industry the ability to service and repair the radars and missile guidance systems that are onboard the Apache helicopters.
Though, US-Polish defence cooperation extends far beyond the Apache deal. There is wider military and industry infrastructure across the republic, from the US Army V-Corps stationed in Poznań to the competency centres for various US-manufactured platforms such as the Abrams main battle tank.
The Central European republic also sits in the same camp as the US in terms of its foreign and defence policy – described by the former Polish Prime Minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, in an interview with the Atlantic Council in April 2023:
“Poland needs the US, but Poland needs firm European allies. Allies that actually care about transatlantic co-operation” he contended.
