Armed Forces
Pentagon Orders Missiles for the Polish Helicopters
US Department of Defense made an order worth USD 483 million, including another batch of Hellfire and JAGM ATGMs. The contract also includes missiles intended to be delivered to Poland as well - for the first time in history.
The work covered by this agreement is to be finalized by March 2026. Lockheed Martin is the key contractor. Neither the DoD nor Lockheed did specify the number of missiles expected to be delivered. It has only been announced that this would be the third procurement made, within the framework of the agreement concluded in March 2023 - it is a long-term contract that remains valid until 2025. Should the Parties fully exercise the right of option, the agreement may have a maximum value of USD 4.5 bn.
As stressed by Lockheed Martin, it is the first time, that work performed under this agreement also includes missiles for a new export Hellfire user - Poland. The G2G contract concerning the procurement of around 800 missiles, most of which would be delivered by 2026, was signed last year. The value of the agreement is defined as USD 150 million.
Interestingly, the aforesaid contract also covers the Czech and French Hellfire procurements (alongside the USA and Poland). The Czech Republic needs these ATGMs for its newly procured AH-1Z Vipers. France uses the Hellfire ATGM (also in combat) on its own Airbus Helicopters Tiger rotary-wing aircraft, and the US-made Reaper UAVs. Paris is working on helicopter-borne ATGM of its own, but Hellfires would be used until the said missile is commissioned, as a capability gap filler.
Hellfire is a semi-active laser-guided ATGM with a range of 8-10 kilometers. Longbow Hellfire missiles utilized a radar seeker, but they are no longer manufactured today. The newer JAGM missile offers similar performance, but it also features a dual laser and radar seeker, blending the capabilities of Longbow and Romeo hellfire variants. Development works are underway, on a new JAGM version, with a range extended to several kilometres.
The first contract concerning the Polish Hellfire missiles is associated with the acquisition of 32 AW149 helicopters, with the relevant agreement dating back to 2022. The deliveries began last year. Last year Poland also received US approval for procurement of 96 Apache helicopters, along with 460 JAGM missiles, and 1,844 Hellfires. Back in March 2024, the White House announced that AW149Warsaw received the Apache bid.