Poland faces soaring costs beyond $10bn Apache deal
How much will Poland pay for 96 Apache helicopters? The $10 billion reported in the context of the agreement signed in August 2024 does not cover the entire expenses that Poland must incur for the purchase, implementation, and operation of these attack helicopters. When all factors are considered, the total cost is significantly higher.
The question of how much the Apache helicopters cost Poland seems straightforward. For two years, discussions about the helicopters were accompanied by an amount approved by the US State Department, which authorised the transaction.
However, this was not the final price but a maximum price approved by the American administration: the upper limit for the executive agreement, which – as shown by historical practice – is usually set significantly higher than the eventual cost. This was also the case here.
The executive agreement (LOA, Letter of Acceptance) set the payment for the helicopters at $10 billion. But even this figure doesn't tell the whole story. Why?
How much does an Apache helicopter bought by Poland cost?
Military equipment orders often include information about the cost. This leads to calculations where the total value of the agreement is divided by the number of units purchased. It gives a figure that is easy to compare, determining whether Poland, the United Kingdom, or another country paid more for a particular weapon system. The problem is that such a comparison explains little.
This stems from the fact that equipment purchases usually come with a logistics package, training, spare parts, or even weapons. This was also the case here – "96 Apache helicopters" refers to nearly a hundred machines and includes an undisclosed stockpile of weapons for them, a parts package, and personnel training.
At this stage, the amount begins to increase because – although Poland purchased a "training package" with the AH-64E to accelerate the readiness of Polish machines – a separate agreement for training Polish pilots in the United States was signed, along with the leasing of eight machines, which will allow further training domestically.
The purchase is just the beginning of expenses
The avalanche of costs arises when considering not just the purchase price (even with the additional services package), but also the operational costs calculated for the entire lifecycle of a given weapon – taking into account not only training or overhauls but also the construction of infrastructure for the specific type of equipment or MLU (mid-life upgrade), performed halfway through the equipment's lifecycle.
The modernisation of Polish F-16s demonstrates the high expenses of such actions. In 2003, Poland paid $3.5 billion for 48 machines in the F-16C/D Block 52+ Advanced variant. More than 20 years later, the MLU modernisation package, which will upgrade Polish machines to the latest F-16V standard, was priced at (maximum) $7.3 billion.
This price includes not only the transformation of the aeroplanes themselves but also the weapons necessary to conduct flight tests, spare parts, software support, and logistics of various part deliveries. This, again, makes it impossible to clearly state how much we will pay for the modernisation of a single unit.
A few years ago, Australia attempted to estimate the total costs of purchasing and operating attack helicopters, analysing whether to select a new attack helicopter or retain the ones already in service – the contract was in competition with the AH-1Z Viper, EC665 Tiger ARH and AH-64E. Ultimately, Canberra decided to retire 22 operated Tigers and purchase 29 AH-64E helicopters for $4 billion.
Even £575 million annually
The Defence 24 service also presented a report on the total costs that Poland will incur in connection with the purchase of Apache helicopters, based on data disclosed by the British Ministry of Defence.
The United Kingdom, with 50 units of the AH-64E, estimates that acquiring (in this case, reconstructing from the AH-64D version) 50 helicopters will cost £1.8 billion, and the annual operating costs, excluding infrastructure and weapons costs, amount to about 1/30 of the purchase price.
Based on this data, Defence 24 states: "It can be estimated with a fairly high probability that the cost of maintaining the helicopters will be at least equal to their purchase cost and may even exceed it depending on the adopted exploitation model and the number of modernisations."
In practice, this means additional costs ranging from £8 billion to £16 billion (depending on whether Poland decides on MLU in the future), which – in the case of the upper limit – could mean even £575 million annually. Therefore, negotiating favourable offset agreements or the widest possible range of overhauls and operational work carried out by Polish industry is crucial.
Thanks to this, Military Aviation Works No. 1 in Łódź will be able to conduct inspections and repairs of some AH-64E components, and the Dęblin branch of WZL1 will gain competencies to overhaul the T-700-701D, CT7-2E1, and CT7-8E engines, used not only in Apaches but also in S-70i Black Hawk, AW101, or AW149 helicopters. This offers a chance that a significant part of the expenses related to operating the purchased helicopters will remain within the country.
