Media reported that Poland will purchase fewer military helicopters than planned
The Polish Ministry of Defense will purchase only 12 out of a planned 16 new helicopters for the army, announced RMF FM radio. Earlier, the department planned to purchase 8 helicopters for ground forces and 8 more for the fleet.
The military will end up purchasing fewer helicopters for fleet to fight submarines and conduct rescue operations at sea. Currently, only four helicopters are ordered for the fleet needs. Information on the reduction in the volume of procurement came after March 27, when the Ministry of Defense of Poland began to study offers from helicopter manufacturers.
The reduction in the volume of purchases was affected by budgetary constraints because, according to the Ministry's calculations, it is now clear that for 16 units with limited security it would be necessary to pay about 7 billion zloty. Earlier, the army planned to spend about 13.5 billion zloty on 50 French Caracals with the full provision program.
Consequently, according to the sources of the publication, the ministry can generally postpone the purchase of new helicopters. According to Minister Antoni Macierewicz, manufacturers charge too much for helicopter maintenance.
It is also reported that Poland will now consider the proposals of three manufacturers: American Lockheed Martin, Italian Leonardo Helicopters, as well as French Airbus, with which the contract for delivery of Caracal helicopters fell through last year.