Poland likely to cancel Airbus deal
14:48
Deputy Defense Minister Bartosz Kownacki told Polish daily Rzeczpospolita that a $3 billion deal with Airbus for the delivery of 50 helicopters is likely to be canceled.
The previous PO-led government had signed an initial agreement with the French manufacturer to buy EC-725 Caracal multi-purpose helicopters. The contract has yet to be signed by the new government, which would rather award the contract to locally based subsidiaries of Sikorksy or AgustaWestland.
"I can't say that the final assessment of the ... negotiations will be negative, but considering how big the differences are, it is very likely that an agreement will not be reached," Bartosz Kownacki said.
"We are not allergic to the French, but to not utilizing the capacity of the Polish (defence) industry," Kownacki said, adding that it might be better to pay a fine for canceling the deal than accept losses which the Polish defense sector may suffer.
