Helicopter aviation is undergoing a rebirth. The advisory machines are replaced by state-of-the-art centrifuges – AH-64E, AW149 and AW101. erstwhile asked to compare fresh and old airmen's platforms, they respond with a grin that they only connect that they... fly. – Everything else is simply a technological leap which has not yet been made in the Polish air force – soldiers say.
We buy 96 AH-64E helicopters – the airmen waited impatiently for this contract. Agreement signed in August 2024 assumes that they will scope the Polish army from 2026 to 2028. Then Poland will become the world's largest user – after the USA – of these machines. The $10 billion worth contract besides includes a training package for pilots and people operating machinery and a supply of ammunition and spare parts. “This is simply a groundbreaking agreement that changes the face of the air force, the face of the Polish army”, announced Deputy Prime Minister, National Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamish in the 1st Land Army Aviation Brigade, where a contract for the acquisition of helicopters was signed. This unit will receive the first machines.
Impact force
Why does Poland request Apache helicopters? “First of all, we must strengthen our firepower and build the most effective ability to defend against a possible aggressor. The AH-64E impact chopper will be 1 of the most crucial elements of fire support for land troops, says Colonel Krzysztof Zwolinski, head of the chopper aviation board – Deputy Air Force Inspector.
The most modern machines will take the place of Mi-24, which according to airmen do not meet the smallest requirements of the modern battlefield. – They do not have essential weapons in the form of guided anti-tank missiles, mark detection and tracking systems, information management in the area of conducting operations, self-defence systems, means of classified communications and many others, essential for effective operation in a network-centric and multi-domain combat field environment – explains Colonel Zwolinski. Apache Power provide, inter alia, Link-16 system, through which pilots will be able to communicate and exchange real-time data with F-16, F-35 aircraft, Abrams tanks, HIMARS or Patriot systems, as well as the firing system, in which the FCR (Fire Control Radar) radar is most important, as well as the M-TADS (Multi-Function Targeting and Acquisition System) and M-PNVS (Pilot Night imagination Sensor). Thanks to these, the pilot will be able to detect and classify targets, but besides to dispel them utilizing precise on-board weapons.
The first aircraft will arrive in Poland in about 2 years, but earlier, even at the turn of the 2024s and 2025s, the 1st Land Army Air Force will get 8 D version helicopters, which will be loaned from Americans. PThe army already has pilots who will be able to sit behind the controls of these machines.. In May 2024, they returned from the United States after 8 months of training. In the United States too, technicians were trained, who will be liable in the future for the Apache service.
– For us, this day is like the beginning of a completely fresh era – said the soldiers of the 25th Air Cavalry Brigade during the reception ceremony of 2 AW149 helicopters in October 2023. Today, the formation already counts 5 helicopters, and by 2029 there are to be a set of 32 helicopters. Multitask AW149 in the Polish Army will be utilized primarily for transport, support of battlefields, combat and naval rescue and search activities.
Air carriers are 1 of the most crucial advantages of AW149 that it provides advanced endurance in an environment hostile to helicopters. “It is thanks to the fact that they were equipped with passive protection systems preventing the enemy from interacting with these machines during the performance of the tasks,” stressed Colonel Piotr Krajewski, commander of the 7th Air Division of the 25th Air Cavalry Brigade. Airmen stress that AW149 will work as fire support helicopters. Their weapons may be mounted on an external suspension, undirected or directed missiles designed to combat armoured targets and reinforcements of the opponent.
The first AW149 machines for the Polish army were manufactured by Leonardo in Italy, but another are already constructed in Poland – in PZL Świdnik. The production line for AW149 helicopters was opened in May 2024. This is the first time in past erstwhile PZL Świdnik releases specified advanced machines from his plants.
Submarine specialist
Contract for the acquisition of 4 AW101 helicopters was signed on April 26, 2019. The contract was worth about PLN 1.65 billion and included not only helicopters themselves, but besides crew training, logistical support and method package. The first AW101 was delivered to Poland in October 2022. The last, 4th copy of the 44th Naval Air Base was received in December 2023. AW101 were adapted to search for submarines, conduct rescue missions in combat conditions, as well as peculiarly complicated actions during peacetime. They can be adapted to circumstantial tasks by assembling and dismantling circumstantial modules.
Helicopter crews that carry out a submarine search mission leave the hydrolocation station and active and passive hydroacoustic buoys to the sea. 2 navigators take part in the action: the TACO Tactical Officer, who allocates tasks, decides on the usage of the equipment and weapons, analyses the device indications, and the SENSO Officer, who focuses on strategy handling. During rescue operations, the crew can usage high-class radar, electrooptic head or searchlight. In AW101 systems, ready-to-use search scenarios are encoded to facilitate action. The pilot determines only the area and then selects the appropriate scenario. This will enable the chopper to operate according to a circumstantial pattern and to carry out the essential tasks in turn. However, the device does not replace the pilot who continues to control the search results.
As with another modern platforms, the most crucial systems in AW101 are communication, processing and data transmission. As a result, crews have constant contact with another platforms – from helicopters and aircraft to ships. But that's not all. Helicopters are armed with light torpedoes that are utilized to combat submarines. They besides have advanced electronic combat systems that let disrupting enemy radar systems, countering guided missiles, and detecting and avoiding threats.
The Polish army has importantly strengthened its operational capabilities thanks to the acquisition of modern helicopters. Apache, as powerful impact machines, will supply an advantage in the anti-tank fight, AW149 supply not only fire support, but besides allows fast spread of troops and equipment, while AW101 enhances safety in the Baltic. The outdated fleet of post-Soviet helicopters slow disappears from the units, and the emerging modern machines are for chopper aviation the beginning of a completely fresh era.
