Poland's air force has received several responses to a request for an advanced jet trainer to replace its obsolete TS-11 Iskras, including proposals to equip the service with the BAE Systems Hawk and McDonnell Douglas A-4 Skyhawk, write Bartosz Glowacki and Grzegorz Sobczak.
The UK Royal Air Force and Defence Export Service Organisation have proposed the delivery of training services using ex-Swiss air force Hawks, to potentially be bought and overhauled by BAE. Advanced Training Systems International has submitted two proposals: the first to train Polish pilots in the USA using A-4s and US Air Force flight simulators; and the second to modernise ex-Norwegian Northrop F-5 fighters for use at the Polish air force's academy at Deblin.
Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) is offering an initial 250h of training per pilot using ex-Israeli air force Skyhawks, before progressing to the Lockheed Martin F-16. IAI has also offered Poland the opportunity to join its Javelin advanced jet trainer programme, which the company says will fly early this year ahead of military series production in 2008 and deliveries from 2010.
Poland has a requirement for around 50 new advanced jet trainers, but a shortage of funds has prevented it from launching a procurement process to replace the ageing TS-11 Iskra fleet. Air force commander-in-chief Gen Ryszard Olszewski says the service's priority is to train its first pilots for the F-16 Block 52+ aircraft it is to receive from November. Poland's first intake of F-16 pilots will receive instruction in the USA, with in-country training unlikely to start before March 2007, by which time a new training system should be in place at Deblin. Warsaw also hopes to establish an international combat pilot training centre at the site for use by NATO personnel from central and eastern Europe.
Source: Flight International
