Poland Signs Deal to Buy 2 US-Made Gulfstream VIP Planes

Poland has signed a 440.5 million-zloty ($108 million) deal to purchase two small U.S.-made Gulfstream G550 planes to fly government members and other top politicians on foreign visits.

New planes for the government have been a pressing need for some 20 years, as Soviet-made planes were phased out due to age. One of the two remaining Tu-154 aircraft crashed in 2010, killing President Lech Kaczynski and 95 others. Two chartered Embraer planes are in use now.

Poland's Defense Ministry on Monday signed a deal with Savannah, Georgia-based Gulfstream Aerospace for the delivery of two 16-seat planes by mid-August 2017. They are capable of flying nonstop across the Atlantic, as was Poland's requirement.

A bid by French company Dassault Aviation was rejected.

Poland has also issued a tender for three medium-size VIP planes.

(The Associated Press)