Poland on Tuesday signed a contract with the U.S. to buy 96 AH-64E Apache attack helicopters as it bolsters its armed forces following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Under the deal with the U.S. government announced by Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz, the helicopters will provide new combat capabilities in terms of target engagement and reconnaissance, and will replace Poland’s post-Soviet Mi-24 helicopters.
In August 2023 the U.S. approved the sale of 96 AH-64E Apaches and related equipment to Poland for about $12 billion. The deal provides a logistics package, including equipment for helicopter maintenance, airport and hangar equipment and technical support, a training package, and ammunition and spare parts. Earlier this month, Poland’s defence ministry signed offset deals with Boeing and General Electric worth nearly 1 billion zlotys ($255 million) to compensate for the Apache deal.
Meanwhile in neighbouring Germany once considered a military powerhouse, weapons stocks, already down due to decades of underinvestment, have depleted even further because of weapons supply to Ukraine as the nation defends itself from the Russian onslaught. So far, Berlin has donated three Patriot air defence units to Kyiv, more than any other country, bringing down the number of Patriot systems in Germany to nine.
Although military aid to Ukraine will be cut, Germany will comply with the NATO target of spending 2% of GDP on defence in 2025, with a total of 75.3 billion euros. Days after Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced a “Zeitenwende” – German for historic turning point – with a 100 billion euro special fund to bring the military up to speed.
From this special fund, there will be 22.0 billion euros more for defence, plus 53.3 billion euros in the regular budget, still less than that sought by Defence Minister Boris Pistorius. The defence budget is set to receive a meagre 1.3 billion euros more than in 2024, far below the 6.7 billion euros requested by Pistorius.
It is clear that European nations are forced to reinvest in their armed forces after many years of neglect. The Russian special military operations in Ukraine has forced many countries to re-prioritise their budgetary allocations.
Team Bharatshakti
(With inputs from Reuters)
