Poland picks Black Hawks Following Cancelled Deal With France To Buy 59 French Helicopter

Poland has considered to buy a $3.5 billion Polish-made Black Hawk helicopters after the country scrapped plans to buy 50 French-made military helicopters from Airbus Helicopters.

Polish Special Forces would be able to begin training with the Black Hawks later this year, Defence Minister Antoni Macierewicz was quoted as saying various media Monday.

The modernization of Poland's army became paramount two years ago when Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine, making Central and Eastern Europe anxious, Macierewicz said.

Leaders with the nationalistic ruling Law and Justice party said, the deal with Airbus didn't serve the nation's best interests. A preliminary deal with Airbus had been sealed by the previous, pro-European ruling party, Civic Platform. Law and Justice, which won elections a year ago,

They had been skeptical of it, but carried out talks for many months before announcing that the two sides couldn't agree on an offset deal, which was a major condition for the purchase.

In an offset agreement, the seller of a product or service agrees to invest in sectors or goods on the buyer's side, as a way of compensating or enhancing the value of the deal. Offset deals usually accompany large deals in the military industry.

The offers made by Airbus Helicopters failed to properly secure Poland's economic and security interests. Earlier Polish officials had hinted the value of the offset should approximately suit the value of the purchase and should help develop the nation's defense industry.