Poland on Tuesday signed a $10 billion deal to buy 96 Apache attack helicopters from US manufacturer Boeing in a new upgrade to the country's military capabilities.

Poland has sharply accelerated the modernisation of its armed forces since Russia's full-scale invasion of neighbouring Ukraine in 2022.

"This is the landmark purchase by Poland for its armed forces of... 96 state-of-the-art AH-64E Apache attack helicopters," Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz told reporters.

"Today we are taking a milestone in the transformation and equipping of the army," he added, speaking at the Inowroclaw air base where the Apaches are to be stationed.

The deal is the latest in a string of contracts signed by Poland with the United States in recent days.

On Friday, Warsaw announced a deal to buy hundreds of AIM-120C AMRAAM air-to-air missiles. On Monay there was a contract to build 48 launchers for the US-designed Patriot air defence systems. 

The AH-64E Apache helicopter will soon be flying in the skies above Poland.

- 'Insurance of our freedom' -

Poland, a staunch ally of Ukraine, has announced it would spend more than four percent of its annual economic output on defence this year -- twice NATO's target of two percent.

The Ukraine war has also solidified the relationship between the United States and Poland, a country on NATO's eastern flank that sees Washington as one of its main allies.

The Apache helicopter sale was approved last year by the US State Department and Congress.

The deal "changes the face of the Polish army's operations and complements" previous purchases, Kosiniak-Kamysz said, pointing notably at the Abrams tanks that Poland bought in the past years.

According to the Polish government, the Apaches are designed to work with the Abrams.

"For the Abrams, the Apache is an essential element," Kosiniak-Kamysz said.

In 2022, Poland bought 250 Abrams in a modern M1A2 variant, which are expected to be delivered later this year. It will be the first country outside the United States with the tanks.

The attack helicopter agreement also envisages providing the Polish army with maintenance equipment, technical and training support, flight simulators, and spare parts.

"Offset, purchase, leasing, pilot training, technology, armament -- it was all negotiated together. It's a historic day for helicopter aviation," deputy defence minister Pawel Bejda said.

"These 10 billion dollars are the insurance of our country, the insurance of our freedom," Bejda added, saying that the Apaches would serve the Polish efforts to "deter those who have evil intentions".

The first US-made helicopters are to be delivered in 2028, but some Polish pilots have already begun training on the US-made helicopters.

The Apaches will replace outdated Russian Mi-24 helicopters.

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A Russian lawmaker says the military knew Ukraine was planning to hit Kursk, but everyone was told 'not to panic' because 'those above know better'

• A Russian lawmaker said Ukraine's incursion into Russia's Kursk region didn't come as a complete surprise.

• Andrey Gurulyov said the military was warned about the attack a month ago.

• "But from the top came the order not to panic and that those above know better," he said.

Ukraine caught the world by surprise when it attacked Russia's Kursk region last week, but a Russian lawmaker said the country's military knew about the planned incursion a month before it happened.

"But from the top came the order not to panic, and that those above know better," Andrey Gurulyov, a member of the State Duma and retired major general, told the military expert Vladislav Shurygin in a televised interview that aired on August 8, according to a translation by The New York Times.

Russia's military, Gurulyov said, was told about Ukraine's plans for Kursk about a month ago.

The former army officer said military leadership received an intelligence report about Ukraine's impending attack.

Ukraine launched a shock offensive into the Kursk region on August 6. The complex and surprise attack has been wildly successful for the embattled country, which was caught on the back foot after the US Congress delayed more than $60 billion of aid.

The Ukraine aid bill was finally passed in April after months of back-and-forth.

On Monday, the commander in chief of Ukraine's military, Oleksandr Syrskyi, said Ukraine had seized nearly 400 square miles of Russian territory in just a few days. That's close to the amount of Ukrainian territory captured by Russia this year.

This isn't the first time Gurulyov has ripped Russia's military leaders and accused them of having poor strategy and incompetence on the battlefield.

In September, Gurulyov said in a Telegram message that the military was using lies and false reporting to downplay Ukraine's accomplishments during their failed counteroffensive on Russia.

"Victory is separated from us only by one serious problem of ours — lies. Yes, there is less of it than there was at the beginning of the special military operation, but it is there," Gurulyov wrote, using the euphemism for Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

"False reports, unfortunately, lead to poor decisions at many levels. It is there, let's admit it and fight it, otherwise it will be a disaster," he added.

Representatives for Russia's defense ministry didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

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