Mariusz Błaszczak made the announcement at a joint Polish-US military exercise in western Poland on Friday.
He watched the drills alongside the US ambassador to Poland, Mark Brzezinski, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
During the event, Błaszczak officially appointed Gen. Adam Joks as the commander in charge of forming the Polish Army’s 2nd Corps.
Joks previously served as deputy commanding officer of the US Army V Corps, the PAP news agency reported.
The Polish defence minister said: “The new 2nd Polish Corps will be established by Gen. Joks and it will be designed to strengthen interoperability with the United States and to strengthen the defence potential of the Polish Army.”
Błaszczak added: “We are proud of the fact that the headquarters of the US Army V Corps’ Forward Command is located in Poland, under a decision by President Joe Biden.”
He announced: “The new Polish 2nd Corps will be modelled on the US Army V Corps. It will include an air force consisting of Apache helicopters.”
The Polish defence minister said the US Army was universally regarded as the world’s “strongest, best organised and best equipped military force” and "therefore provided a very good benchmark" for the Polish Army.
Apache helicopters for Polish army
Friday’s Polish-US military drills featured American-made Apache combat helicopters, the PAP news agency reported.
Błaszczak told reporters: “We watched the Apache helicopters today. This is because the Polish army will be equipped with as many as 96 such machines.”
He added: “Before this contract is implemented, the Polish military will receive eight Apaches on loan from the US Army. I discussed this with the US Secretary of Defence, Lloyd Austin, during my visit to America in early May.”
Polish pilots to begin training on Apache helicopters in August
Błaszczak announced that Polish pilots would begin training on Apache helicopters in early August. "As soon as the training is completed, this first batch of eight Apaches will reach the Polish Army," he said.
He praised the Apache helicopter as “a highly advanced weapon that will be a big boost for Poland’s defences."
Błaszczak also said that Poland was expanding its armed forces in coordination with the United States “to make sure that the Polish Army is strong enough to deter Russia.”
Meanwhile, the US ambassador said that the Apache was the most advanced military helicopter in the world and stressed that Poland and the United States were united in their commitment to the NATO alliance.
He added that the Polish and US armed forces had a shared goal of working together to strengthen collective defence and security.
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, launching the largest military campaign in Europe since World War II.
Friday is day 513 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
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Source: PAP, defence24.pl