The new Polish Government has suspended a controversial agreement signed by Poland and Israel in October to upgrade 100 PZL-Swidnik Huzar attack helicopters.
The inter-governmental agreement, signed on 13 October by the outgoing Polish Government, has been shelved pending a review of the process which led to the deal with Israel. The upgrade had been scheduled to start in mid-1998.
At stake is the upgrade of more than 100 Huzars, a militarised version of the W-3 Sokol, for the Polish air force. Under the October deal, the upgrade work would have been led by an Israeli consortium including Elbit, Rafael and EL OP.
The Israeli Ministry of Defence has approved a 100% offset agreement and technology transfers to the Polish manufacturers, PZL-Swidnik and Mesko.
Sources in Israel say that negotiations between the consortium and the Polish manufacturers are continuing, with the aim of finalising all the details before the year-end.
The upgrade on offer includes advanced avionics made by Elbit and EL OP, and the NT-D anti-tank missile developed by Rafael, based on the Spike personal anti-tank missile.
Opposition in Poland appears to be based partly on the claim that awarding the contract to a US company is in Poland's interest as it prepares to become a member of NATO .
Source: Flight International
