Lockheed, Sikorsky Debut Armed Black Hawk in Poland

When Sikorsky was owned by United Technologies Corporation, “there was a policy when part of [UTC] that prevented Sikorsky from internally arming a Black Hawk,” Villa said. “That has since gone away.”

Lockheed Martin bought Sikorsky from UTC last year.

And while Sikorsky could not arm Black Hawks, Lockheed Martin has, for example, done integration work to weaponize Sea Hawks, the US Navy’s version of the helicopter.

Now that Sikorsky and Lockheed are one in the same, each company brings experience that will move the dial toward a more seamless process to arm Black Hawks.

“Now we can be a one-stop shop,” Villa added.

Sikorsky and Lockheed are working together on several versions of an armed Black Hawk. The Black Hawk on display in Poland is just one possible configuration designed by the team, according to Villa.

Villa emphasized the configurations are weapons agnostic and in the case of Poland, it was likely armed with NATO standard weapons like Lockheed's Hellfire missile. “It’s supposed to be a representation of what can be done. To even get into what’s on it right now is immaterial. That we can do it is what is being highlighted,” he added.

The display in Poland marks the first time Sikorsky and Lockheed have debuted an armed Black Hawk concept. The same helicopter will make another European cameo at the Farnborough Air Show in England next month.

Sikorsky and Lockheed Martin see a promising market for armed Black Hawks in the region. “The entire region right now is in need of helicopters because of the aging Russian fleet,” Villa said. “The majority of these former Warsaw Pact countries fly Mi-24s, which is, essentially, an armed small utility aircraft so the countries in the region are looking to fill that gap that is being opened up.”

Additionally, there are countries that may want a utility aircraft and an armed aircraft but, don’t have the budget to buy two exclusive platforms for a utility and attack helicopter. Sikorsky sees an armed Black Hawk as a good solution to meet those requirements within smaller budgets.

Poland bars overflight by Russian defence minister's plane - Russian agency

Poland refused permission for a plane carrying Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu to fly through its airspace while attempting to return from a visit to Slovakia, RIA news agency said on Friday.

 

RIA said the minister's plane turned around and landed back in the Slovak capital Bratislava.

 

The reason for the reported incident was unclear. Poland has been one of the countries most critical of Russia's actions in the Ukraine crisis, accusing it of aggression against its neighbour.

Poland knows about Russian ‘humanitarian convoys’. It didn’t let one in.

Grzegorz Kostrzewa-Zorbas, Polish journalist and former diplomat, writes that Poland has also been through a ‘humanitarian convoy’ crisis.  It came through it unscathed by refusing to allow the convoy in.  Georgia was less fortunate.

 

Kostrzewa-Zorbas explains that the Soviet tactics used in 1991 to get into Poland through camouflage, distortion of reality and psychological pressure were similar to those now seen in Ukraine.  it would be easier, he suggests, to counter what he calls the Russian military operation “humanitarian convoy” if politicians, as well as public opinion in Ukraine, in the EU and NATO remembered that the Soviet Union tried the same thing on with Poland and that Poland won.

 

The Soviet Union was ignoring Poland’s demands made in September 1990 to withdraw Soviet troops from its territory.  In retaliation, Poland blocked the evacuation through its territory of Soviet forces from former GDR [East Germany]. This put the USSR in danger of breaching its agreement to remove its troops from Germany following the latter’s unification.

 

The strategy worked, and quickly at that.  The author’s implied cause and effect in saying that therefore Poland has no Russian army, but is in NATO and the EU could probably be argued, however Poland certainly withstood Soviet pressure with style.

 

The Soviet government announced that a huge convoy of ‘humanitarian aid’ for people in the USSR was being sent via Poland from the former East Germany.  This convoy would be made up of 200 Soviet military trucks accompanied by armed soldiers under military leadership. This was said to be the first of hundreds of such convoys. 

 

Poland stated that it would not allow an armed military column disguised as a humanitarian convoy. The Soviet communist party official paper Pravda then accused it of a lack of Christian love for its neighbour and Soviet diplomacy went all out to present Poland as heartless and cruel.  The ploy appeared to be working with  western diplomats, media, churches and other organizations coming out in defence of the poor suffering Soviet people to whose plight Poland was supposedly indifferent.

 

Poland did not back down.  It offered to allow the so-called humanitarian aid to be transported by Polish railway as cargo with no soldiers, and no military status. The author said that at that point the convoy disappeared, and that it’s not even certain whether it actually existed. “Only the Soviet Army existed for certain”.

 

Russia’s so-called ‘humanitarian convoy’ disappeared from site on Wednesday after Kyiv made it clear that it would not allow the trucks to pass into Ukraine without being checked by Ukrainian and International Red Cross officials and reloaded.  It would be nice to see this as a repetition of the Polish experience, unfortunately the analogy with Georgia in 1993 seems more immediate.  On that occasion Russia used just such a convoy to get military supplies into the Akhazian city of Tkvarcheli, which Georgian military forces were holding under siege.  Russia also used rhetoric about humanitarian concerns to justify its war with Georgia in 2008.

 

The near three hundred military trucks painted white were supposed to be heading to the Kharkiv oblast border crossing, however whether this was ever genuinely planned as the border crossing point seems doubtful.  The trucks’ whereabouts on Wednesday night are unclear, though it seems likely that they will try to cross the border into Ukraine in the Luhansk oblast.   

 

It is very much to be hoped that satellite pictures are recording exactly what is happening with these trucks and their load, and that even if the information is not made public, it will be communicated to those world leaders who may still have levers of influence on Russia.  Whatever the latter is playing at, this has long ceased to be a game. 

We Are Together - Lithuania and Ukraine!

Poles are dying for a free Ukraine

Khmelnitsky and Płoskirów said goodbye to two of its heroes:  One Ukrainian and one Pole, Greek Orthodox and Roman Catholic. Both fought in the battalion Dnipro 1 against Russian invaders. They were buried next to each other.

 

The bus driving the soldiers was ambushed by Russian terrorists on August 12th. Twelve  Ukrainian soldiers were killed. The funeral took place just recently because the terrorists had demanded money for the corpses. In the end, they agreed to exchange the bodies for a few living Russian terrorists.

 

43-year-old Volodymyr Wełyczko and 49-year-old Leonid Smolinski went through the Kyiv Maidan revolution together. They were friends. When Russia invaded Ukraine, they joined battalion Dnipro 1 as volunteers together.

 

Wełyczko recently baptized his youngest child in Khmelnitsky. His mother sensed something. She asked him not to return to the East. But Volodymyr could not stay. He said he could not leave his boys, and was gone.

 One of their companions mentioned that Smolinski used his Polish contacts to get equipment for their battalion.

 

The friends were buried next to each other. They received their last sacraments by two priests, a Roman Catholic priest and an Orthodox priest. Their graves mark the beginning of the Avenue Of Merited Heroes.

 

Khmelnytsky (Ukrainian. Хмельницький, Chmelnyćkyj), named Płoskirów until 1954: This is a district capital city with 260 thousand inhabitants situated 230 km from the Polish border. There are several Polish organizations throughout the Khmelnitsky district, such as: Charters of Union of Poles of Ukraine, Union of Polish Teachers in Ukraine, and the football club Polonia Khmelnytsky. Also located there is the Roman Catholic Church parish: Church of Christ the King, built in 1995. According to data from the 2001 census, Poles represent 2.0% of the population.

Poland says to speed up attack helicopter purchase due to Ukraine crisis

Poland will move the purchase of 30 attack helicopters forward by two years as part of a review of its army modernisation programme triggered by the crisis in Ukraine, Polish deputy defence minister Czeslaw Mroczek said.

 

Mroczek told Reuters that the first stage of the procurement process, originally scheduled for 2016, had already started and confirmed that 10 companies have submitted their offers but declined to name them.

 

“The events in Ukraine are having a clear negative impact on regional and international security and have made us … realise there was a need for updating our technical modernisation plans,” Mroczek said in an interview last week.

 

“As a result of the review, the plans have been updated byspeeding up the programmes which increase our military’s attack force, as well as its deterrence potential,” he said.

 

Polish military experts have suggested Boeing’s AH-64 Apache, AgustaWestland’s AW-129 Mangusta and Eurocopter’s EC-Tiger as potential candidates.

 

“We will try to have the helicopters ready for combat in 2019 or 2020,” Mroczek said. They will replace the worn-out Soviet-era Mi-24s currently used by the Polish army.

 

Poland, the biggest of the former Communist states to joinNATO after the end of the Cold War, has been a leading voice in calling for sanctions on Russia after it annexed Ukraine’s Crimea and for NATO to shift troops and equipment eastwards to reassure members close to Russia as fighting with rebels in eastern Ukraine continues.

 

Last week, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski told Reuters that NATO members were “quite close” to reaching consensus on increasing the alliance’s presence in eastern Europe.

 

Poland is already in the process of purchasing 70 multi-purpose helicopters, with Airbus Helicopters, Sikorsky Aircraft and AgustaWestland competing for the tender. Sikorsky and AgustaWestland already own factories in Poland.

 

Mroczek said that following “the Ukrainian review”, Poland will also speed up the purchases of a second naval strike missile system, a long-range missile launcher and air-to-surface JASSM missiles for its fleet of 48 F-16 fighter jets.

 

The country is now also looking to buy long-range unmanned attack aircrafts, also known as drones.

Asked about Poland’s mid-range missile defence system, Mroczek confirmed the tender will be completed next year. In June, Poland shortlisted U.S. firm Raytheon and a consortium of France’s Thales and European group MBDA as potential suppliers of the system.

 

Mroczek said the role of Polish industry in the contract would be an important factor in choosing the supplier.

 

“Polish industry’s participation, that is, how big a part of the (production of) system will be left to Polish companies, will be an important consideration,” said Mroczek.

 

The companies participating in the final stage of the procurement have said the participation of Polish companies would account for a large portion of the contract.

 

Mroczek said that the modernisation programme represented “a great opportunity and vast amounts of money, which can transform Polish military technology science, and, above all, the Polish industry.”

 

Poland’s Finance Ministry estimates that the country will spend around 130 billion zlotys between 2013 and 2022 on modernising its armed forces. The country already spends 1.95 percent of its GDP on the army, one of the highest rates of military spending in the world.

Just Like Putin, Another Mad Russian - Zhirinovsky: Baltic States and Poland will be wiped out

The politician, who is often dubbed the Kremlin's mouthpiece, threatens Poland and the Baltic States with carpet bombings.

According to him, whatever plans NATO and Brussels have and whatever directives Barack Obama signs, they won't have any power. “All questions of war and peace in general and in particular those relating to Ukraine will be solved by one person, the head of the Russian Federation,” he said.

He made the statement on the air of Russia 24 Tv channel. The vice speaker of the Russian Duma, Vladimir Zhirinovsky, commended on tensions between Russia and the West and began to threaten the neighbouring countries.

Zhirinovsky promised carpet bombings and complete destruction of Poland and the Baltic States.

“The Baltic States and Poland are doomed,” he said. “They will be wiped out. Nothing will remain there. The heads of these dwarf states should think who they are. Of course, nothing threatens America, because it is far, but Eastern European countries risk to be destroyed completely. This is their fault, because we cannot accept planes and missiles to be launched to Russia from their territories. We need to destroy them 30 minutes before the launch.”

NATO To Set Eastern European Measures at Summit

NATO members will set their 2015 slate of reassurance measures — actions meant to bolster Eastern European defenses — and debate the alliance’s post-Afghanistan path at next month’s summit in Wales, a senior Pentagon official said.

 

All 28 member countries have pledged to participate in the measures, including air policing and surveillance flights, in the wake of Russia's February invasion of Crimea and continued massing of troops near Ukraine's eastern border.

Because NATO’s current agreement on reassurance measures expires at the end of the year, alliance members will look to firm up new measures for 2015 at the summit, said Derek Chollet, assistant defense secretary for international security affairs.

"What we're trying to do is use this summit beyond the just symbolic effort to show unity, but to try to get NATO to sign up to some concrete initiatives that will position it for the future," Chollet said.

A key enabler of the reassurance plans next year is the $1 billion European Reassurance Initiative, which the Obama administration has proposed as part of the Pentagon's 2015 budget.

The US intends to use the $1 billion – which Congress must still approve – to fund exercises, more rotations of US forces throughout Europe, infrastructure projects for partners and possibly the pre-positioning of equipment.

The Initiative "shows the United States' enduring commitment to the security of Europe," NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said in a July 7 speech at the Atlantic Council think tank in Washington. "Now other allies need to strengthen their commitment."

The US also plans to use the upcoming summit "as a way to galvanize some of our European partners to ensure that they're spending the right kind of resources on defense," Chollet said.

After more than a decade of fighting in Afghanistan, many NATO countries have been cutting defense spending. US leaders have been encouraging alliance members to invest more strategically as budgets tighten.

A number of Eastern European nations, including Poland, Romania and Latvia, have pledged to increase defense spending in the wake of Russia's recent military actions in and around Ukraine.

Last month, the British Prime Minister David Cameron pledged to spend £1.1 billion (US $1.8 billion) on defense equipment.

London is "very actively leading the charge, along with us, to get more countries to sign up for more," Chollet said.

Another focus of the summit will be looking for ways that NATO can improve coordination among its members during capacity-building efforts with key partners, Chollet said.

There have been challenges when conducting defense capacity-building missions in countries, such as Libya, where a number of countries are working on individual efforts in this area.

"We're coordinating as best we can, but it's not as well-coordinated as it would be if we were part of an organization doing it," Chollet said. "It's all sort of ad hoc."

NATO's organizing capacity could make these partner-building efforts more effective, he said.

Pirates release five Polish, Russian crew taken from ship off Nigeria

Pirates have released five Polish and Russian crew members they kidnapped from a cargo ship off the coast of Nigeria last month, the vessel's management company said.

Piracy is increasing in the west Africa's Gulf of Guinea, an important exporting region for oil, cocoa and metals, and insecurity is driving up shipping costs.

The hostages were taken when the Antigua and Barbuda-flagged MV City of Xiamen container ship was attacked late on April 25 about 100 miles off Nigeria's coast, Reuters reports.

"Despite difficult conditions while in captivity, they are in good health. They already returned to their own countries and reunited with their families," Sunship Schiffahrtskontor KG, the ship's German operator, said in a statement.

The firm did not say if a ransom was paid but this has been the case in the past.

The International Maritime Bureau had said 14 heavily armed pirates attacked the container ship, breaching its citadel - a strong room designed to protect the crew from attack.

Naval patrols and the presence of armed guards aboard merchant vessels have helped reduce piracy off Somalia on Africa's eastern coast but international navies are not engaged in counter-piracy missions off Nigeria.
 

Poland cancels Aerostar UAV purchase

Poland's defence ministry has cancelled a contract to purchase Aerostar unmanned air systems from Israeli company Aeronautics, and will also ask for compensation.

Signed in 2010 and covering two systems, the $35 million purchase was made in order to deploy the UAS in Afghanistan, where Polish army units are part of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force.

Warsaw's deal included the development of an automatic take-off and landing (ATOL) capability, with this to have enabled the unmanned aircraft to approach and land safely in windy conditions and other ground effects encountered in the operational area.

Aeronautics encountered problems with the ATOL capability, which led to it failing to meet the delivery schedule agreed in the contract. The company, which has yet to comment on the Polish decision, has also faced other problems during recent months, with sources saying that a disagreement between its shareholders has delayed some projects.

Originally due to have entered use with the Polish military in Afghanistan in late 2010, the Aerostar is 4.5m (14.8ft) long, has a wingspan of 7.5m and a maximum take-off weight of 210kg (463lb). It has a 12h endurance and a loitering speed of 60kt (111km/h).

PZL Swidnik unveils SW-4 Solo prototype

PZL-Świdnik SA, an AgustaWestland company, has unveiled the prototype of the SW-4 Solo Rotorcraft Unmanned Air System/Optionally Piloted Helicopter (RUAS/OPH) single engine rotorcraft at MSPO 2012 in Kielce, Poland.

The companies hope The SW-4 Solo, created through a collaboration of their engineering teams, will allow them to play a major role in a UAV sector which shows significant growth potential and market opportunities.

“Unveiling the first ever Polish rotary-winged unmanned air system at MSPO 2012 demonstrate the leading role PZL-Świdnik SA is playing in the world’s rotorcraft industry," said Nicola Bianco, managing director of PZL-Świdnik SA. "For our company, remote controlled and unpiloted airborne capabilities are becoming synonymous with the highest possible technology achievements in aeronautics.”

The SW-4 Solo is designed to deliver maximum flexibility to operators thanks to the capability of performing both piloted and unmanned missions in land and maritime environments. In a RUAS configuration it can perform maritime, border and battlefield surveillance; target acquisition and reconnaissance; homeland security, environmental monitoring, ground survey and mapping, disaster / battle damage assessment and cargo supply.

As an optionally piloted platform, the helicopter is also suited for passenger transport and training with 1 + 4 crashworthy seats.

The SW-4 Solo can be fitted with a comprehensive mission equipment suite, incorporating surveillance sensors, communication/intelligence systems and armament.

The SW-4 RUAS prototype is expected to perform its maiden flight in a piloted configuration in the upcoming months while the first unmanned flight is expected to be performed in 2013.

Poland Calls ‘Mistake’ Cooperation with U.S. over Missile Defense – President

Poland needs its own missile defense shield while the agreement with the United States on the deployment of an anti-ballistic-missile defense system on its territory was “a mistake,” Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski said in an interview with the Wprost magazine, published on Saturday.

“We must have this element of the Polish defense [missile defense system]. Spending large sums on military hardware is actually meaningless if it is not secured from… the missile attack and air raids,” Komorowski said, adding that Polish shield must be a part of the existing European missile defense system.

The president also said that the agreement to deploy the U.S. anti-ballistic-missile defense system on the Polish territory which was later scrapped by the U.S. President Barack Obama, has been “a political mistake” that should not be repeated in future.

“Our mistake was that while accepting the U.S. proposal, we have not taken into account a political risk related to the change of the U.S. president. We have paid a too high political price for that,” Komorowski told the magazine.

The United States scrapped plans in September of 2010 for an anti-ballistic-missile defense system in the Czech Republic and Poland. Moscow welcomed the move, and Russia’s then-President Dmitry Medvedev said later that Russia would drop plans to deploy Iskander-M tactical missiles in its Kaliningrad Region, which borders NATO members, Poland and Lithuania.

Last year, however, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced Washington's plans to deploy the U.S. new-generation ballistic missile defense interceptor site in Poland by 2018.

S., Poland Work on SM-3 Interceptors Deployment - Pentagon

U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta escorts Polish Minister of National Defense Tomasz Siemoniak to the Pentagon as they walk past an Honor Cordon on their way to a private meeting on July 25, 2012

Washington and Warsaw keep closely discussing the deployment of a U.S. new-generation ballistic missile defense interceptor site in Poland by 2018, Pentagon spokesman George Little said.

U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta met on Wednesday with his Polish counterpart Tomasz Siemoniak to discuss besides other issues the deployment of the U.S. missile shield elements in Europe.

“Panetta thanked Siemoniak for Poland’s leadership on NATO Ballistic Missile Defense [BMD]. Poland was the first nation to establish a BMD agreement with the United States… The two nations are working closely together to establish an SM-3 ballistic missile interceptor site in Poland by 2018,” Little said in a statement.

 The Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) Block IB is designed to intercept and destroy short to intermediate-range ballistic missile threats and is an essential component of an anti-missile system the United States is building in and around Europe.

Moscow has long opposed the deployment of U.S. missile defenses near its borders, arguing they would be a security threat and could destroy the strategic balance of forces in Europe.

The United States scrapped plans in September of 2010 for an anti-ballistic-missile defense system in the Czech Republic and Poland. Moscow welcomed the move, and Russia’s then-President Dmitry Medvedev said later that Russia would drop plans to deploy Iskander-M tactical missiles in its Kaliningrad Region, which borders NATO members Poland and Lithuania.

Russia’s position on missile defense in Europe

Last year, however, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced Washington's plans to deploy missile defenses and Air Force units in Poland.

Russia and NATO agreed to cooperate on the so called Euro missile defense system at the Lisbon summit. NATO insists there should be two independent systems that exchange information, while Russia favors a joint system.

Polish Air Force to become largest C295 operator

The Polish Air Force today  signed a contract with Airbus Military for the acquisition of  five C295 transport aircraft to further expand their transport capabilities. Deliveries will start end of this year and continue into 2013.

The aircraft will join the existing C295s currently in service, increasing the fleet to 16 aircraft, and will be used to support the Polish Air Force in its national and international operations.

“The C295 is working extremely well with the Polish Air Force and we are proud to have a further vote of confidence from our customer with this new order for a further five aircraft. We have a very close relationship with Poland also through our Polish subsidiary and we look forward to further expand our footprint in Poland”, said Domingo Ureña Raso, CEO of Airbus Military. “This order also underlines our leadership in this segment with over 110 orders of which 27 orders were placed this year.”

This now brings to the total orders for the C295 to 113, with 85 currently in operation with 13 countries.

About C295

The new generation C295 is the ideal aircraft for defence and civic missions to the benefit of society, such as humanitarian actions, maritime patrol, and environmental surveillance. Thanks to its robustness, reliability and simple systems, this medium sized tactical airlifter provides the versatility and flexibility necessary for personnel, troop and bulk or palletized cargo transportation, medical evacuation, communication and logistic duties, and certified air-dropping capabilities. Its mix of dual technology civil/military equipment ensures success in demanding tactical missions, growth potential for systems development, as well as compatibility with the latest civil airspace requirements. The C295 is part of Airbus Military’s family of light and medium airlifters which also includes the smaller C212 and CN235.

About Airbus Military operations in Poland

PZL Warszawa Okecie, was acquired by Airbus Military (then EADS CASA) in 2001. It has two sites, Warsaw and Mielec, employing 620 people.

The industrial activities range from the design and manufacturing of light trainer aircraft to the manufacturing of subassemblies for the Airbus Military CN235 and C295, and wiring harnesses for several commercial Airbus types. Specifically, it produces the outer wings for the Airbus Military C295 as well as the cargo doors, the ramp and the doors for the pilot, paratroopers and passengers on the CN235 and C295. This workshare has been recently increased with the assembly of the nose section for those aircraft, making the company the largest supplier to these programmes.

In November last year, Airbus Military also opened a new MRO Service Centre dedicated to the repair and servicing of Airbus Military C295 aircraft. This is Airbus Military’s second service centre in Europe, adding to the capabilities of its centre in Seville, Spain. The newly opened facility will perform the full scope of repair and service work for C295 airlifters operated by the Polish Air Force and other operators and potential clients in Europe and  worldwide.

Norway and USA agree to collaborate on integration of Joint Strike Missile (JSM) on F-35

Norway and USA agree to collaborate on integration of Joint Strike Missile (JSM) on F-35. This opens great opportunities for KONGSBERG and other Norwegian industry.

Today Defence Minister Espen Barth Eide announced that the Norwegian Government has decided to start the process to finalize the development of JSM and integration on F-35. The decision comes as a consequence of Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta’s confirmation of US support for integration.

Through the development of the Naval Strike Missile (NSM), the Norwegian Armed Forces has established KONGSBERG and other Norwegian industry in the top tier as a supplier of long-range, precision strike missiles that will meet military requirements in a 20 to 30-year perspective.

“It is of great importance that the US authorities have confirmed their support for the integration of the JSM on the F-35. In doing so, the operational needs of the Norwegian Armed Forces and international partners will be met. Furthermore, this will be an important contribution to the industrial content of the F-35 procurement. JSM is the world leader in its category and further strengthens the F-35's operational capacity", states Walter Qvam, CEO of KONGSBERG.

“KONGSBERG has involved a number of Norwegian subcontractors in the first phases of the JSM development. Today's decision for the integration of JSM on F-35 open up new opportunities for a long-term Norwegian industrial success that may be worth as much as NOK 25 billion. In future full-scale production, the JSM programme could translate into 450 jobs at KONGSBERG and significant assignments for more than 100 Norwegian subcontractors for several decades", comments Harald Ånnestad, president of Kongsberg Defence Systems.

As part of the JSM development programme, new operational capabilities will be developed and tested for subsequent upgrading of KONGSBERG's Naval Strike Missile (NSM). The NSM is now in production for the Armed Forces of Poland and Norway.

NATO tightens patrolling of airspace during EURO 2012

NАТО, at the request of Poland, will tighten the patrolling of airspace during EURO 2012 with the help of the Airborne Warning & Control System (AWACS), NATO's press service has told an UKRINFORM correspondent.

"NATO's 'Eye in the Sky,' the AWACS (Airborne Warning & Control System), will be playing an important role in the security of the European teams' competition over the next three weeks. Poland, as co-host of the competition along with Ukraine, is the latest NATO member to make such a request," reads the statement.

NATO also recalled that other high-visibility events to which the AWACS have been called in include the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Greece, the 2004 European Football Championship in Portugal, and the 2006 World Cup Football Championship in Germany, as well as important meetings held by other international organizations.

As reported, NATO and Ukraine agreed to introduce a special regime of air situation data exchange at the time of EURO 2012.

Russia Has No Business in NATO Missile Defense – Polish MP

Poland has warned Moscow against interfering in NATO’s plans concerning the deployment of a missile shield in Europe as Russia is not a member of the military alliance, a high-ranking Polish official said on Tuesday.

On Sunday, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen announced the “first step” in the European missile defense system.

“If this system belongs to NATO, then it cannot be that a state, which is not a NATO member, could influence NATO’s defense system and the development of this system,” said Bogdan Borusewicz, the chairman of the Polish parliament’s upper house.

Poland Embarks on Helicopter Acquisition Program Worth up to US$1 Billion

The Polish Ministry of National Defense is embarking on the acquisition of a new transport helicopter for the Polish military, at an estimated budget of US$1 billion. This multi-phase helicopter procurement will be divided into several stages, the first will include the acquisition 26 aircraft for the Army, Navy and Air Force through 2017.

The Air Force will also receive three helicopters configured for Combat SAR (CSAR). The three companies have entered the competition are Sikorsky, Eurocopter and AgustaWestland.

The American company Sikorsky and Italian-British Agusta Westland are both expected to face each other competing for the Polish tender, as they did in other markets recently. Sikorsky is expected to offer the battle hardened S70i while Augusta-Westland is likely to offer the ultra-modern AW 149.

Both players are well positioned in Poland – Sikorsky owns PZL Mielec and runs the S70i assembly line in the country while Augusta-Westland have acquired PZL Świdnik, an experienced manufacturer of Sokół helicopters widely used by Polish Army and Navy.

The Franco-German Eurocopter has also joined the competition. A part of the EADS group, Eurocopter has already gained a foothold in the civilian market in Poland – Eurocopter sold 23 aircraft for the state operated Air Medical Emergency Service (Lotnicze Pogotowie Ratunkowe). Eurocopter could offer the Cougar (and possibly EC275 for the Naval and Air Force tenders).

AgustaWestland will be promoting the AW149 for the Polish tender. If they win, production would probably move to their new local subsidiary PZL Świdnik.

The Kaman SH-2G Super Seasprite augments the Polish Navy frigates in operations at sea. Photo: Marian Kluczynski

The fourth company thought to be a contender for the program is NH Industries, a joint venture between AgustaWestland, Eurocopter and the Dutch company Fokker. However, NH Industries opted not to compete for this tender, to avoid competition against its parent companies. Nevertheless, given the strong footing of the NH90 in NATO, the Polish military would have  benefit from acquiring the NH90.

The Polish Navy currently uses the Mi14PL for anti-submarine warfare missions. Photo: Marian Kluczynski

The Polish Army currently operates a fleet of different Mil helicopter types, including Mi-2, Mi-8 and Mi-17 transport helicopters and 29 Mi-24 attack helicopters. In addition, the inventory includes more than 30 locally built W-3 Sokól multipurpose medium helicopters manufactured by Polish helicopter company PZL-Swidnik.