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Polish press tour 2010 |
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11-10-2010 Minsk
Mazowiecki |
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In October
2010 we were invited to join the Polish Ministry of Defence
photo tour. In contrast to the past, these days now also include
visits to an army aviation regiment and a navy helicopter base.
The tours are always a mix of old and new, but the emphasis is
of course on the new material and organization of the different
branches of the Polish Defence Forces.
During the photo tour the following bases where visited: Minsk
Mazowiecki, Inowroclaw (Army), Powidz, Swidwin and Babie Doly
(Navy).
The first air base we visited was Minsk Mazowiecki, home of
1.elt, flying the MiG-29 in the air defence role. The squadron
is tasked with defence of the capital Warsaw and the airfield is
also an emergency landing runway for the international airport
Warsaw Chopin. Also at Minsk Mazowiecki is the 2nd Search and
Rescue Group (2.gpr), equipped with PZL W-3WA "Sokol" SAR and
Mi-2 helicopters.. |
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On 1st July 2010, 23 Air Tactical Base assumed command of all
its separate units on base, including the aviation units 1.elt
and 2.gpr. This reorganisation is the second one after having
changed the air force structure more than a decade ago, which
was the first step away from its former Warsaw Pact command
structure.
The Polish Air Force received 12 MiG-29 Fulcrums when still a
member of the Warsaw Pact. During the last decade it enlarged
and partly replaced its MiG-29 force with foreign examples. It
now has an operational fleet of 32 aircraft: 26 MiG-29A/G air
defence fighters and six MiG-29UB/GT two-seat trainers. Fourteen
of Poland’s aircraft, the MiG-29G/GTs, were sold to Poland in
2004 by the German Luftwaffe for the symbolic price of 1 Euro.
Another ten MiG-29A/UBs were acquired from the Czech Republic,
one trainer and nine single-seaters. These examples were
exchanged for a number of Polish-made PZL W-3A "Sokol"
helicopters in 1996. |
1.elt |
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23 BLOT |
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The main role of the 1st Tactical
Squadron is to protect Polish airspace, together with the 41st
Air Squadron (41.elt), based at Malbork. The alert duties are
rotated on a two-weekly service between these two squadrons.
Every day two aircraft serve as duty interceptors, waiting fully
fuelled and armed to take off within minutes of a call. Polish
MiG-29s also guard other European countries, in a NATO Air
Policing role. Last year, four Fulcrums from 41.elt were
deployed to Lithuania for four months, to protect Baltic air
space. It was the Fulcrum’s second such rotation.
Poland is NATO’s largest MiG-29 operator and has upgraded all of
its aircraft to NATO standards. They have been equipped with a
Rockwell Collins ANV-241MMR VOR/ILS navigation system,
AN/ARN-153 (TCN 500) TACAN, Thompson-CSF SB-14 Radar Warning
Receiver, an Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) system, and
other avionics. At the same time their Russian navigation set
was retained, giving the pilots some operational advantages.
However the ground-based units supporting the system has now
been withdrawn from use due to serviceability issues. |
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There are plans for a far more
extensive upgrade of some MiG-29s to add 20 more years (or 4,000 flight
hours) to one squadron of 16 fighters and this would keep the fighter in
service until 2029. The scope of the upgrade program is still under review,
although it also will have to address fatigue issues which are being
discovered in Russia.
A basic upgrade package would give the remaining MiG-29s the ability to
carry under wing fuel tanks, adding a laser inertial navigation/GPS guidance
system, a new mission computer, new radios and a multifunction colour
display. A more extensive package would see an upgrade to the radar, add a
head-up display, hands-on-throttle and stick, helmet-mounted cueing system,
new electronic warfare suite, two multifunction colour displays, and the
ability to use the same weapons suite as employed on their F-16C/D force. |
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