Andrzej Jeziorski/MUNICH
THE POLISH Government has halted a defence ministry plan to buy second-hand Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jets instead of ordering more Polish-built PZL-Mielec Iryda jet trainers.
Prime Minister Jozef Oleksy has announced that the plan has been "suspended" in the interest of Mielec, but says that the decision "...will be reviewed later".
Workers at Mielec, staged a protest at the plant earlier this month, after defence minister Zbigniew Okonski said, that the armed forces would stop buying the Iryda. The defence ministry says that the aircraft is too expensive and that it does not meet air force requirements.
"The ministry simply does not have enough cash to buy Irydas, regardless of the pressure on us," Okonski told the Polish parliament on 1 December.
According to Iryda chief designer Marek Potapowicz, the programme accounts for 35% of Mielec's production. The company is in a vulnerable position, taking its first steps towards economic recovery after the loss of its traditional Eastern Bloc market. Potapowicz says that the loss of the Iryda programme "...could lead to the collapse of the company".
The ministry says that it is interested in purchasing "about 40" jet trainers. The Alpha Jet left a good impression in demonstrations to air force officials, and is under consideration alongside the Czech-built Aero Vodochody L-39 Al- batros and the Saab 105.
The German defence ministry says that no formal negotiations on Alpha Jet are under way, although "working-level" discussions have been held. The German air force still operates 35 Alpha Jets, which are to be retired soon.
Potapowicz argues however, that the cost of retraining Polish pilots and ground crews, as well as modernising the aircraft and providing a support infrastructure, would negate any savings.
The Polish defence ministry says that it has had problems with the Iryda from the start. The early I-22 models, powered by two 10kN (2,250lb)-thrust PZL-5 turbojets, were considered under-powered. Although this was improved with the introduction of the new, 15kN IL K-15 turbojet in the M-93 version of the aircraft, these engines have suffered their own teething problems.
The ministry says that further problems are the aircraft payload - the M-93 can carry about 2,000kg of stores, compared with I-22's 1,100kg and the Alpha Jet's 2,200kg - and "far from excellent" avionics.
Mielec has tested an upgraded avionics suite from France's Sagem, although the ministry says that the cost was considered excessive.
The Polish air force has bought 12 Irydas to date, three of which are still to be delivered by the end of the year, and five of which are the original I-22 version. The ministry has proposed that it hand these over to Poland's navy and it says that the damage to Mielec could be offset by upgrade work on 40 of Poland's TS-11 Iskra jet trainers.
Mielec, meanwhile, has been working with the Warsaw-based Aviation Institute on aerodynamic improvements to the Iryda. These include, a leading-edge root extension and a leading-edge and trailing-edge wing flaps and taillets.
Source: Flight International
