Poland has signed a €102 million ($107 million) contract to modernise its fleet of Airbus Defence & Space C295 medium transports, while its defence minister has expressed renewed interest in acquiring in-flight refuelling aircraft.
Finalised on 13 December, the C295 deal will lead to the Polish air force’s 16 examples receiving updated avionics including radio and satellite communications, an interrogation friend or foe system, and new self-protection equipment. They also will gain an oxygen supply system to support high-altitude parachute deployments.
Two aircraft will undergo a prototype modernisation activity at Airbus’s San Pablo site in Seville, Spain, with the remainder to be updated by Airbus Poland in Warsaw. The work will be conducted between 2025 and 2033 during scheduled heavy inspections of the aircraft, so as not to disrupt the regular operations of the 8th Transport Aviation Base in Krakow.
“We have been using CASA [C295] aircraft for a long time, but now we are investing in modernisation. We want these aircraft to be at the highest level,” says defence minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz.
“This contract is yet another demonstration of the close partnership and the trust Poland and Airbus have built over the years,” says Airbus Defence & Space chief executive Michael Schoellhorn.
Established in 2011, the company’s maintenance, repair and overhaul centre in Warsaw supports Poland’s C295 fleet, plus examples of the twin-turboprop operated by the Czech Republic, Finland and Kazakhstan, Schoellhorn notes.
The same plant also produces nearly 60% of the C295’s structure, including its wing, cockpit, tail section, ramp, and crew, emergency and parachutist doors. It also recently began manufacturing components for the type’s centre fuselage section.
Meanwhile, Kosiniak-Kamysz has identified adding a tanker capability as a priority for the NATO nation.
“The Polish air force is in particular need of additional resources which it does not have today: this is the ability to refuel in the air,” he says. “Fortunately, thanks to our allies, we have these capabilities, but Poland has already built its armed forces at too high a level not to have such capabilities itself.”
He also cites additional transport capacity and air superiority as investment needs.
