Boeing sweetens its Polish F-15EX offer with local deals, ‘Ghost Bat’

WARSAW, Poland — As the Polish Ministry of National Defence is advancing plans to purchase up to 32 new fighter jets, Boeing is pitching the F-15EX jet, emphasizing its air superiority fighter’s payload, range and speed.

To make its effort more attractive to Poland, the U.S. company is combining it with an industrial cooperation package for the country’s defense sector, and the MQ-28 Ghost Bat loyal wingman-type drone offer.

As part of their campaign, Boeing representatives have held meetings with potential industry partners from Poland to discuss areas of cooperation on the F-15EX program. On Oct. 29, the company hosted a Boeing Industry Day event in Warsaw. The ongoing talks also concern other programs such as the KC-46 tanker which Boeing is promoting in Poland alongside its fighter jet offer.

Marissa Myers, a senior manager responsible for business development at Boeing, told Defense News the company is searching for partners specialized in manufacturing, services, research and development, as well as maintenance, repair, and overhaul activities, among others.

“Poland already has MRO capabilities to offer,” Myers said, using the acronym for maintenance, repair and overhaul. “We have a couple of MoUs already signed with various companies. We’re also partnered with local universities. Hopefully, we can have a couple more partnerships come out of that.”

Initial discussions have started between Boeing and Poland on the MQ-28 Ghost Bat, “the most advanced and mature collaborative combat aircraft available in the market,” she said.

In addition to the F-15EX, Warsaw’s available options include buying 32 more fifth-generation aircraft, which would be added to Poland’s initial order of 32 F-35s that is underway, or opting for a European air superiority aircraft, the Eurofighter Typhoon, a jet produced by a consortium of Airbus, BAE Systems and Leonardo, as indicated by Polish military officials.

Boeing has intensified its efforts to secure further business in Poland, driven by the company’s 2024 deal to supply 96 Boeing AH-64E Apache attack helicopters — with related gear and weapons — for the nation’s military. The contract is worth around $10 billion, and it was followed by a $300 million contract inked in February under which the Ministry of National Defence leased eight Boeing AH-64D copters from the United States.

Jaroslaw Adamowski is the Poland correspondent for Defense News.

波兰华沙——波兰国防部正在推进采购多达 32 架新型战斗机的计划，波音公司正在推销 F-15EX 战斗机，强调其空中优势战斗机的有效载荷、航程和速度。

为了使这项举措对波兰更具吸引力，这家美国公司将其与该国国防领域的一揽子工业合作方案以及 MQ-28 幽灵蝙蝠忠诚僚机无人机结合起来。

作为推广活动的一部分，波音公司代表已与波兰潜在的行业合作伙伴举行会谈，讨论F-15EX项目的合作领域。10月29日，该公司在华沙举办了波音工业日活动。双方正在进行的会谈还涉及其他项目，例如波音公司在波兰推广的KC-46加油机，该项目与波音战斗机项目并行推进。

波音公司负责业务拓展的高级经理玛丽莎·迈尔斯告诉《防务新闻》，该公司正在寻找在制造、服务、研发以及维护、修理和大修活动等领域具有专长的合作伙伴。

“波兰已经具备MRO（维护、修理和大修）能力，”迈尔斯说道。“我们已经与多家公司签署了谅解备忘录。我们也与当地大学建立了合作关系。希望我们能在此基础上建立更多合作关系。”

她表示，波音公司和波兰已就MQ-28“幽灵蝙蝠”无人机展开初步讨论，“MQ-28是市场上最先进、最成熟的协同作战飞机”。

除了 F-15EX 之外，华沙可选择的方案还包括再购买 32 架第五代战机，这将添加到波兰目前正在进行的 32 架 F-35 战机的初始订单中；或者选择欧洲空中优势战机——欧洲台风战斗机，这是一款由空客、BAE 系统公司和莱昂纳多公司组成的联合体生产的喷气式战机，正如波兰军方官员所指出的那样。

波音公司加大了在波兰拓展业务的力度，这主要得益于该公司与波兰军方签署的2024年合同，合同内容包括向波兰军方供应96架波音AH-64E“阿帕奇”攻击直升机及相关设备和武器。该合同价值约100亿美元。此外，今年2月，波兰国防部又签署了一份价值3亿美元的合同，从美国租赁了8架波音AH-64D直升机。

Jaroslaw Adamowski 是《防务新闻》驻波兰记者。