Poland to announce new tender for helicopters

After calling off the €3 billion deal with Airbus for army helicopters, Poland will soon hold a new tender. "To comfort Airbus group I can only say that a new call for tenders will be launched and that they can participate," government spokesman Rafał Bochenek said on Polish Radio. No other details have yet been announced. The Polish government cancelled the previous tender because Airbus couldn’t agree to certain terms regarding offset. The Airbus chief denied it, saying his company had never been treated so badly by any government. On the next day, Poland’s Defense Minister Antoni Macierewicz, announced that the army will buy at least 21 Black Hawk choppers from Lockheed Martin. The spat has ratcheted up diplomatic tensions between Warsaw and Paris, which was backing Airbus in the process. French President Francois Hollande has postponed a visit to Poland that was scheduled for Thursday.