Caracala case for the Polish army. Investigation extended up to 23 times

Contract signed and terminated

Caracale's helicopters were machines, the acquisition of which for the army was planned by the Government of the Civic Platform. The contract had already been signed, but the fresh Law and Justice government, after taking power over 8 years ago, decided to break the deal. As a result, an investigation into this substance was initiated, which has not yet ended today.

Reporter RMF FM, Krzysztof Rule, determined that the investigation had been extended as many as 23 times. Investigators say the proceedings are coming to an end, but the Szczecin Regional Attorney's Office has not revealed any details in almost 8 years. As he explains, he does so for the sake of national security.

More than 100 witnesses are known to have been questioned. Among them is expert Antoni Macierewicz, Wacław Berczyński, who admitted in an interview with the “Journal of Legal Newspapers” that he had the decisive influence on the conclusion of Caracala.

A process that continues to go on

In April 2015, the Caracal helicopter, produced by Airbus Helicopters, was selected for the last negotiations in a bid for multi-tasking aircraft for the Polish military. Negotiations on the offset agreement began on 30 September 2015, the signing of which was a condition for the approval of the contract for the transportation of 50 helicopters.

In 2015, the Government of the Civic Platform signed a contract to acquisition Caracal helicopters for the Polish army. This decision was met with the violent opposition of the Law and Justice, which immediately after reaching power broke the agreement. Since then, an investigation has been underway, which — how...

— Kagielarczyk 🇵🇱🇪🇺🇮🇱🇺🇸💙💛 (@bweglarczyk) February 28, 2024

The decision to elect Caracal met with opposition from the PiS organization and trade unions related to rejected offers from PZL Mielec, a associate of the American Sikorsky corporation, offering the Black Hawk machine. The offer of PZL Świdnik, owned by Leonardo Helicopters, was besides rejected. The Ministry of improvement in 2016 reported that negotiations had been concluded. According to the information, the contractor did not supply a satisfactory offset offer which would warrant the economical interest and safety of the Polish State.

Recently, investigators have renewed the deadline for the termination of proceedings until June 24. This investigation is among the cases that the fresh D.A. is peculiarly diligently investigating. The aim is to make certain that all procedures in the controversial cases for the ruling PiS organization were followed, or for any reason this procedure was ‘persistent in place’.

Machine failure?

Even at the beginning of August of the erstwhile year, Polish Radio controlled by PiS accused PO that it was attacking the ruling through its spot. The PO criticised the withdrawal from the acquisition of French helicopters, but according to the PiS, the deficiency of consent to buy them was justified.

According to the then TVP Info, national defence minister Antoni Macierewicz decided to end negotiations and reject the proposal to buy helicopters. He did this due to the fact that many experts claimed to confirm that these machines were very susceptible to failures.

@Macierewicz_A Act of 25.05.01 on modernization of SZ RP, for which Kaczynski voted @pisorgpl@Macierewicz_A 👇
He demanded that the Rosomak program be deleted
He demanded that programs be deleted: Narew Wisła, Pilica.
He deleted the Caracal program and bought the Patriot.
He didn't want Leopards 2 from Germany

— Fou®tech_UK🇵🇱🇺🇲🇬🇧🇺🇳🇪🇺 #AboveUsOnlySky (@4teh_) August 4, 2023

TVP Info cited a scandal in France that broke out in 2017. It turned out then that only a 4th of all helicopters of this type, which were then owned by the French army, operated without charge. The economical portal “La Tribune” reported that the cost of repairing these machines in France increased significantly, almost twice.

TVN24, however, in 2017, pointed out that the full controversy concerns not only the H225M model itself, but the full strategy of aircraft and chopper readiness maintenance. It was essential to take account of operating conditions, especially in regions specified as Africa, where Caracali was frequently used. The advanced strength of operation under hard conditions led to fast wear and frequent service, which generated advanced costs.

The French defence minister, Florence Parly, pointed out in 2017 that although the combat readiness of all machines outside France is 80%, intensive exploitation absorbs large resources, which limits the availability of equipment for the home station forces. Additionally, the tiny fleet of Caracali – just over 20 machines – makes keeping them costly and complicated. With a tiny number of machines, the practice of "cannibalization" (using parts from 1 device to repair others) becomes more hard and after any time may run out of spare parts.