During the Defence24 publication DAY conference, the Inspector of the Polish Air Force, Brig. Ireneusz Nowak, announced that Poland plans to purchase 22 multi-role Leonardo AW101 heavy lift helicopters. They will be used by units subordinate to the 25th Air Cavalry Brigade, along with the newly acquired AW149 multi-role battlefield support helicopters.
The AW101 helicopters in the multi-role version will replace the Russian-origin Mi-8 and Mi-17 helicopters, and will probably perform mainly transport tasks.
The Land Forces will be the second user of the AW101 in the Polish Army. The first is the Navy, which acquired 4 machines in the anti-submarine version with the ability to perform combat search and rescue missions (ZOP-CSAR). The helicopters will be delivered by 2023 by main contractor PZL Świdniik, the Polish subsidiary of Leonardo Helicopters.