Latest news with #ArmamentAgency
Straits Times
3 days ago
- Business
- Straits Times
Poland cancels acquisition process for 32 Black Hawk helicopters
WARSAW - Poland has cancelled the procurement procedure for the purchase of 32 more Lockheed Martin S-70i Black Hawk helicopters for the Polish Army, the Polish Armament Agency said on Friday. "Maybe it is necessary to acquire other equipment in its (helicopters') place such as drones, or tanks, or some kind of communication," agency spokesman Grzegorz Polak told Reuters. Polak added that "some correction" was needed when the geopolitical situation and state security interests required other tasks to be carried out. Poland launched negotiations for the acquisition of 32 S-70i Black Hawk helicopters, produced by Lockheed Martin's Polish arm PZL Mielec, in 2023 under the previous Law and Justice (PiS) government. PiS lawmaker Mariusz Blaszczak, who was defence minister in the previous government, labelled the decision a "disgrace" in a post on X, saying it would slow down the replacement of the helicopter fleet. In August 2024 Poland signed a contract with the U.S. to buy 96 AH-64E Apache attack helicopters. Under the deal with the U.S. government the helicopters would provide new combat capabilities in terms of target engagement and reconnaissance, and will replace Poland's post-Soviet Mi-24 helicopters. Polak said the Armament Agency obtained equipment in accordance with Polish army plans, which are classified. It was not the Armament Agency that set procurement priorities, he added. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Euronews
05-02-2025
- Politics
- Euronews
Poland to refit F-35 jets with better-camouflaged monochrome insignia
A significant change is coming for the insignia of the Polish Air Force: a new low-detectability checkerboard pattern meant to ensure the country's F-35 jets can operate with maximum stealth. The idea of camouflaging warplanes originated across the Atlantic during the Cold War. "Tactical marking camouflage in the United States appeared in the 1980s, starting with the famous F-117 Nighthawk," Kacper Bakuła of the Armament Agency told Euronews. "Maintaining a consistent colour tone for markings on aircraft was intended to make enemy recognition more difficult from the outset. This was based on lessons learned from World War II and the characteristic dogfights of that era, where enemy identification was not particularly challenging." New legislation introduced in Poland's parliament suggests using the existing Polish checkerboard in shades of grey to blend with the surface of the fighter jet, "in cases justified by security requirements or operational conditions". "On the one hand, this is a manufacturer's requirement; on the other, it is a need of the modern battlefield," says Cezary Tomczyk, secretary of state in the Ministry of National Defence. The camouflaged checkerboard on fifth-generation fighter jets is also designed to ensure limited detectability by radar systems, particularly from forces hostile to NATO allies. "Even a small, distinguishing element on the aircraft's fuselage can lead to visual detection and the identification of its national affiliation," explains Brigadier General Pilot Wojciech Pikuła, deputy inspector of the Air Force. "This is why it is emphasised that the markings should be in camouflage colours similar to those of the F-35."
