Domestic companies fight for military offset contracts with Lockheed Martin

The value of offset agreements related to the purchase of a multi-purpose jet by the Polish army is estimated at $4 billion and several hundred Polish companies have already applied to participate in the program. Lockheed Martin's offset office in Warsaw was inundated with offers from companies applying for co-operation with American partners under the compensation agreements which will become effective if the Polish government decides to equip the army with F-16 planes. "We have already signed six conditional contracts to a total value of $1.7 billion. By the time the tender is resolved in November, we plan to have signed further contracts so that we can achieve 100% of the offset value," reports Rzeczpospolita from an interview with a Lockheed Martin representative. The list of companies that have already signed contracts includes ComputerLand, Bridgings Polska, PALCO, Zaklady Azotowe Kedzierzyn, Instytut Spawalnictwa and Polish tycoon Aleksander Gudzowaty's Bartimpex. (Rzeczpospolita, p. B1) P.W.