Polish Defence Minister Mariusz Błaszczak visited U.S. Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin in Washington on Apr. 20, 2022. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Poland’s assistance to Ukraine and bilateral relations with the USA was the main topic of meetings. During the meeting in Washington, Poland announced that it excluded the Turkish Aerospace (TUSAŞ) T129 attack helicopter from the attack helicopter tender.
Polish Defence Minister Blaszczak met with U.S. defence manufacturing firms Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics and Boeing. Following the meeting with the companies, Minister Blaszczaksaid, “There is no doubt that we need more PATRIOT batteries, HIMARS missile squadrons, combat aircraft, attack helicopters. We talked about such types of weapons, but also about JASSM, JAVELIN missiles” and added, “We want the Polish Army to be interoperable with the U.S. military. Already over 10,000 US soldiers are stationed in Poland.” When asked about helicopters for the Polish Army, Minister Błaszczak pointed out that there are two offers - the offer of Boeing and Bell. “We will choose the most advantageous offer. We want the Polish Army to be equipped with such a weapon as soon as possible,” added the minister.
TUSAŞ had proposed its T129 Atak helicopter to the acquisition program in Poland.
