Poland postpones acquisition of 32 Black Hawk helicopters

WARSAW: Poland has postponed the purchase of 32 more US Lockheed Martin S-70i Black Hawk helicopters for its army, the Polish Ministry of Defence said on Friday, referring to a shift in priorities.

Poland launched negotiations for the acquisition of the helicopters produced by Lockheed Martin’s Polish arm PZL Mielec, in 2023 under the previous Law and Justice of the government.

“We have decided to change the priorities of the helicopter programs… to better adapt to the challenges of future warfare,” armed forces chief of staff General Wieslaw Kukula told a press conference.

Separately, France and Indonesia have signed a preliminary defence pact that could lead to new orders of French military equipment including Rafale fighter jets and Scorpene submarines, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday (May 28).

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“I am delighted that the letter of intent signed today could open up a new perspective with new orders for Rafales, Scorpenes, light frigates,” Macron said at a joint press conference alongside Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto.

Prabowo said France was one of Indonesia’s main partners, as it upgrades its military hardware and develops its defence industry through joint production and technology transfers.

A couple of weeks ago, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth accepted the Boeing 747 that the Gulf emirate of Qatar offered to President Donald Trump for use as Air Force One, the Pentagon said.

“The Department of Defence will work to ensure proper security measures and functional-mission requirements are considered for an aircraft used to transport the President of the United States,” Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement.

Trump’s acceptance of a $400 million airplane from Qatar raised a raft of questions about the scope of laws that relate to gifts from foreign governments and are intended to thwart corruption and improper influence, legal experts said.