Poland Makes a Surprise Helicopter Choice

The news on April 21 that Poland had selected the Airbus Helicopters H225M Caracal as its preferred military utility helicopter platform came as a bit of a surprise.

Airbus Helicopters, on the other hand, has no firm hand in Polish industry, although it has an existing distribution and maintenance partnership with Heli Invest on the civil side of its aviation interests.

Yet, when it came to making a preferred selection, the Polish Ministry of National Defense (MoND) opted for the H225M Caracal over the S-70i and the AgustaWestland entry, the AW149.

The Polish MoND cited the inability of the Sikorsky and AgustaWestland bids to meet the formal and technical requirements of the tender. Regarding the S-70i Black Hawk, the MoND mentioned Sikorsky-PZL Mielec's failure to include the combat system in its offer as the reason it was rejected, while PZL Swidnik (owned by AgustaWestland) failed to provide an initial delivery date that met the Defense Ministry's required timeline.

The first H225M platforms will be manufactured at Airbus Helicopters' main production line in Marignane, France, during which Polish workers will be trained on-site. In the meantime, Airbus and Heli Invest will build a final assembly line in Lodz, Poland, for production of the remainder. Engine-maker Turbomeca will also set up an assembly facility in Poland for its Makila turbo-shaft.

Another surprise in the H225M down-select was the announcement by the Polish MoND that the unit purchase will shrink from the original 70 helicopters outlined to just 50. Rather than go forward with the full order, Poland instead plans to retain a number of its newer Russian-built Mi-17 helicopters (some purchased in 2010 as part of the soâ??called Afghan package of urgent equipment requirements for the Polish contingent deployed in Afghanistan). Cost concerns regarding an imminent helicopter decision – this one concerning assault helicopters – ultimately weighed heavily on the MoND decision to restrict the size of the multi-role rotorcraft purchase.  

As Poland was selecting the H225M as its preferred future utility helicopter, it also reached a decision on its Wisla medium-range surface-to-air missile (MRSAM) requirement. This time, the nod went to an American platform, Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems' Patriot system.

The Wisla project is part of Poland's comprehensive overhaul of the armed forces' outdated, Soviet-legacy missile defense systems with a newer air and missile defense (AMD) system called the Shield of Poland. The Polish modernization program is also being incorporated into a larger NATO ballistic missile defense project. Poland will purchase eight Patriot batteries via the U.S. government-to-government Foreign Military Sales (FMS) channel, with the first two batteries to arrive within three years of a contract signing and the remainder to follow through 2025.

With Poland's pre-eminent security ally, the United States, already fielding Patriot batteries on Polish soil, the choice of the American system over the Thales-MBDA consortium Eurosam SAMP/T offering to fill the Wisla requirement was hardly surprising.

In both instances, Poland seeks to accelerate the procurement process and bring new platforms online as soon as possible (and within its financial means). The hastened push to expedite long-planned projects comes amidst a backdrop of Russian destabilization activities across Eastern Europe – behavior that feeds into deep-seated Polish distrust and fear of Moscow.

But the decisions announced on April 21 also show the delicate balance Poland adheres to in its foreign policy. Whether it is balancing its two premier security pillars, NATO and the European Union, or factoring military requirements into its larger industrial policy, Poland understands that it must be evenhanded and strategically oriented when making crucial procurement decisions.

Thus, procurement does not necessarily simply mean military capability, but how a weapons purchase will factor into modernizing Poland's defense industrial base (and in the instance of the H225M selection, how such a purchase will tie Polish industry into a reshaping European defense sector). Polish leaders are also cognizant that in order to carry a heftier voice in shaping European policy, Poland must be a player in European defense at both the military level and in the larger industrial domain. While many expected the decidedly pro-U.S. Poland to select American platforms in both instances, prudence – and adhering to technical requirements – won out.

As for the United States and its defense export concerns, there are still other large Polish defense projects yet to be won. The most immediate involves the aforementioned procurement of 32 new attack helicopters to replace Poland's aging fleet of Mil Mi-24 Hinds. The so-called Kruk (Raven) program was launched by Poland's Armament Inspectorate on July 8, 2014, and, like the utility helicopter procurement, falls under Poland's Technical Modernization Plan for the Polish Armed Forces 2013â??2022.

Also looming in the future is a project for the procurement of as many as 24 heavy-lift helicopters, which will put the United States in great position to secure another win, as Boeing's CH-47F (and MH-47G for Special Forces) and even Sikorsky's under-development CH-53K King Stallion present the class of the Western options.

Poland presents military vendors with the most lucrative defense market in Europe at the moment. Opportunity abounds, both for European and American manufacturers. Poland will continue seeking how best to be a major player in Europe while adhering to its traditionally close relations with Washington. It is a balancing act that Warsaw has become quite adept at performing.

Daniel Darling is an international military markets analyst at Forecast International Inc., an aerospace and defense market research company located in Newtown, Connecticut. A graduate of Kansas State University, Dan covers the Europe and Asia-Pacific Rim military markets for Forecast, and formerly was responsible for the Middle East as well. He has been quoted or his work cited in: Arabian Business, Defense News, The Financial Times, Flight International, The National, The New York Times, Bloomberg, National Defense Magazine and Small Wars Journal, among others.