Andrzej Jeziorski/MUNICH
Polish defence officials are pushing Israel to agree to test firings of the Rafael NT-D anti-tank missile on Polish soil before the country commits itself formally to buying the weapons.
Officials were due to meet on 15 May to plan the tests, which could include the launch of more than 20 missiles. No further progress has been made on the PZL-Swidnik Huzar battlefield helicopter programme, however, despite the US ratification of Poland's entry into NATO - believed to be the latest factor blocking the delayed project.
Sources close to the programme say that industry is becoming increasingly disappointed with the Polish Government's repeated failure to take any meaningful decisions on the project. Some involved speculate that Warsaw is hoping that Israel refuses to proceed with the tests, to allow Poland to withdraw gracefully from a longstanding commitment to the missile, which is still under development.
In addition, there is still no decision on an avionics supplier and systems integrator, with Israel's Elbit and Boeing still going head to head for the contract. An avionics decision is now not expected until the missile issue has been resolved, and could well involve a fresh tender for the equipment.
"In the meantime, all they're doing is losing export markets," says one source, referring to recent Czech interest in South Africa's Denel CSH-2 Rooivalk helicopter.
Polish military officials have observed NT-D test launches in Israel, but these yielded contradictory reports of how successfully the missile perfomed against moving targets at the required 6km (4 miles) range. A leaked defence ministry report prepared by one of the observers claims that the results were unsatisfactory, prompting calls for the new tests.
The controversy has drawn attention from other manufacturers, sparking renewed proposals of the Euromissile HOT 3, Boeing Hellfire and GEC Brimstone.
The Polish army has a requirement for 100 Huzars, a development of the PZL-Swidnik W-3 Sokol helicopter.
Romanian helicopter manufacturer IAR Brasov has scheduled the official first flight of its IAR-330 Puma Anti-Tank Optronic Search and Combat System upgrade for 26 May. The first prototype was rolled out in June last year.
Series production of a batch of 24 helicopters for the Romanian air force is due to begin this year. The upgrade includes monochrome multifunction displays, a combined inertial/satellite navigation system, a laser rangefinder and forward-looking infrared sensor. Many of the systems include Israeli technology, supplied by the AE Electronics joint venture formed by Elbit and Romania's Aerostar.
Source: Flight International
