Any modern developed state pays close attention to protecting not only its land borders, but also control over the heavenly space. That is why the Polish Air Force is one of the most powerful military branches in this European power. The current leadership of the country is well aware that without proper defense of the sky, the protection of state integrity and sovereignty is simply unthinkable. This article will focus on the Polish Air Force. We will talk about them in more detail.
Quick reference
Polish Air Force was created already far from us in 1918 in parallel with the declaration of independence of the state. These troops took part in the war between Poland and Soviet Russia.
After the Germans occupied Poland in 1939, its aviation became part of the British Air Force, and a little later - the Polish People's Army, which was formed on the territory of the USSR.
Its current name is SiłyPowietrzne - The Polish Air Force received it on July 1, 2004, and is still wearing it to this day.
Historical digression
On the first day of September 1939, two air battles took place, which, in fact, gave rise to the beginning of the Second World War. It was then that the Polish Air Force, the photo of which is given below, showed its strength and power for the first time.
Captain Mechislav Medvedtsky with his wingman, Lieutenant Vladislav Gnysh, took to the air on alarm and saw a German bomber returning from a combat mission in front of them. Noticing that he was being pursued, the pilot of the Yu-87B opened fire on Mieczysław's plane and shot it down. In response to this, the second lieutenant went down and found two more Nazi planes under him - Do-17E. Vladislav decided to attack and eventually shot down two enemy vehicles. That was the beginning of the war between Nazi Germany and Poland.
Before this long-term bloody massacre, aviation in Poland was not a separate military unit. Almost 750 aircraft of various types, which were consolidated into 6 aviation regiments, were based in divisions at bases near Krakow, Warsaw, Poznan, Lida, Vilna, Torun and Lvov. In those days, aviation in the Polish state was considered as a secondary force. Therefore, in July 1939, the country's leadership decided to transfer most of the military aircraft under the control of the ground forces with the simultaneous formation of bomber and fighter brigades from the remaining aircraft. However, the reorganization actually began only in the last ten days of August and took placebad. Repair bases were not adapted to the innovations, the system for providing spare parts and fuel was functioning very poorly.
Thus, initially the Polish Air Force did not play a key role in the Second World War with the Nazis for one simple reason - they simply were not ready for the challenge thrown by a militarily developed Germany.
Defensive War
In the period of 1939, an important role in the confrontation with the Germans was played by the Polish fighter brigade, which consisted of two divisions, each of which, in turn, had two squadrons. The brigade consisted of three dozen R-11s fighters, 15 15R-11a aircraft, 10 rather worn-out R-7a and a communications aircraft - RVD-8. The brigade was commanded by the hero of the First World War, fighter pilot Colonel Stefan Pawlikovsky, who initiated the creation of a separate fighter unit.
The brigade began its combat work on the first day of the war. Around 7 am, 52 interceptor fighters took off from the runway. It was this group that attacked the German He-111 bombers flying under the cover of the Me-110.
Already in the first six days of the war, Polish pilots were able to shoot down 38 enemy bombers. Almost the main task of the brigade was the air defense of Warsaw. As the main tactics of the Polish fighters, ambushes were chosen along the route of the German bombers. The active operations of the Polish Air Force lasted only a week. At the same time, stronglyreduced number of sorties.
Losses
52 fighters were lost in battles. Directly on the ground, the Poles lost 36 R-7 and R-11. Also, thirteen Los bombers and two dozen Karas light bombers, five communications aircraft and one transport aircraft were destroyed. In total, the Polish army lost 357 aircraft. As for the German Air Force, in September 1939 they missed 285 aircraft, including not only fighters and bombers, but also communications, transport, and naval aviation aircraft. Largely due to such serious losses, Hitler postponed the attack on France until 1940.
Northern Group of Forces
After the end of the war, by decision of the Soviet leadership, a special group of troops was created, based in the town of Brzeg:
The composition of the SGV Air Force (Brzeg, Poland) in different years of its existence included:
- 164th Separate Guards Kerch Reconnaissance Aviation Regiment of the Order of the Red Banner. This unit has been at the base since the end of 1958 under August 1, 1990. The armament of the regiment was represented by the following aircraft: Mig-25 RB, Mig-25 BM, Su-24MR.
- 151st Separate Electronic Warfare Aviation Regiment. It was formed in the summer of 1984 on the basis of the 151st separate squadron. The regiment was stationed at the base in the period 1960-1989. MiG-21R, Yak-28PP aircraft were used as weapons in different years. The main task of the regiment was to cover groups of strike front-line aircraft and the complete destruction of radar stations.enemy. The Yak-28 PP aircraft was used to set active and passive jamming. In the summer of 1989, the regiment was transferred to the Belarusian airfield "Shchuchino".
- 55th Separate Sevastopol Combat Helicopter Regiment. Was located at the base from 1981 to 1989. The unit was armed with Mi-8 and Mi-24 helicopters.
- 871 Pomeranian Fighter Aviation Regiment. Based from 1989 to 1990
Interception
At the end of July 2016, there was an unpleasant incident involving a Russian. According to the Ministry of Defense of Poland, the republic's air force intercepted a Russian plane that illegally crossed the airspace of the state. The agency noted that American-made F-16 aircraft were lifted into the air to intercept the vessel, which escorted the aircraft.
As it turned out, the Polish Air Force intercepted a light-engine aircraft from the Russian Federation, which, according to unofficial data, was heading to the city of Radom to participate in subsequent aerial acrobatics competitions. Such close attention to small aircraft was riveted because during the last week of July in Poland there were severe restrictions on flights for small aircraft due to the fact that Pope Francis was in the country, who took part in World Catholic Youth Day.
Also, the press secretary of the Ministry of Defense noted that after the Polish Air Force intercepted the Russian plane, its pilot was explained by radio and using gestures what exactly he was supposed to do. ATthe ship eventually landed at Radom airport and was sent to an aircraft hangar, while its pilot was detained by local police. In addition, the Polish military pointed to the fact that the Polish Air Force intercepted the Russian plane due to the fact that it entered the restricted area without first obtaining special permission for this. Despite the active interest of the media in this incident, the Ministry of Defense did not provide more detailed information. This is largely why the news that the Polish Air Force had intercepted a Russian plane was not immediately available to the public.
Our days
Polish Air Force 2015 is almost identical to today. I would like to note that this country is currently the only one in the world where both the MiG-29 and the F-16 are in service at the same time. Moreover, the Poles acquired all the MiG-29s available from the Germans and Czechs after the collapse of the country of the Soviets. Poland has 32 such aircraft.
As for the F-16, these fighters are new, specially built by the US specifically for the Poles in the period 2003-2004. This situation puts the Polish Air Force, the composition of which we are considering, in a very favorable light, since these F-16s are practically one of the new aircraft in the world of this modification, with the exception of only a few aircraft from other countries.
Many of us may be wondering why the US has put better planes into service with Poland than itself. Here the answer is quite simple. Given the fact that Poland is located on the front eastern edge of the NATO military bloc, which is showing everythingsigns of an aggressive-offensive strategy in the process of its development, it is quite easy to understand the reason for such concern and attention of the Americans for their European partners, directly bordering on Russia.
Also in service with Poland are:
- 16 pieces of CASA C-295 M - Spanish-made aircraft.
- 5 pieces of C-130E Hercules - US-made military transport aircraft.
- 23 PZL M28B Bryza TD - Polish aircraft.
- 28 units PZL-130TC-1 Orlik - Polish-made training aircraft.
- 32 TS-11 Iskra bis DF training aircraft.
- 2 pieces Embraer ERJ 175 - VIP transport (Brazil).
Poland's helicopter fleet is represented by the following machines:
- Mi-8 – 9 pieces.
- Mi-17 - 8 pieces.
- PZL Mi-2 - 16 pieces.
- PZL Sokół - 21 pieces.
- PZL SW-4 Puszczyk - 24 pieces.
Retirement of old aircraft
In the period up to 2016, Su-22 aircraft were decommissioned, and Poland refused to modernize them. This is explained by the fact that both the moral and physical resources of these aircraft turned out to be completely exhausted, and the country's leadership did not see any point in their reconstruction.
Reconstruction
The first upgraded MiG-29 entered service with the Polish Air Force in July 2013. This aircraft was assigned tail number 89, and its permanent location was a military base forty kilometers from Warsaw.
In general, 16 aircraft underwent modernizationof this type. All the necessary work was carried out by the WZL-2 plant, with which a contract was signed in the amount of about $ 40 million. Thanks to this technical improvement, the machines will be able to serve until 2028. Particular attention during the re-equipment was paid to the navigation system, radio station and other on-board equipment.
At the end of 2015, the Ministry of Defense of Poland decided to organize a tender, the purpose of which was to purchase nine RD-33 aircraft engines of the second series, which are used to equip the MiG-29.
The first three engines will be delivered during 2016, and the last one should be received by the Poles in 2018. The main problem is that the second series of this engine is no longer produced anywhere and by anyone, and therefore it will be almost impossible to purchase a power plant of this type in the near future, because now the time has come for third-generation engines. Therefore, Poland is even considering the purchase of overhauled engines, the overhaul period of which should be at least 350 hours, and the technical resource should be at least 700 hours. At the same time, the engine supplier will be required to provide a full guarantee that the installations will work without accidents for 200 flight hours or two calendar years.
Technique from Italy
In July 2016, the Polish media reported that Italy had successfully flight tested the first M-346 aircraft, which was built on a special order for Poland.
On the runwaythe car was solemnly taken out on July 6th. It happened in Lombardy. Initially, the plane was marked with signs of the Polish Air Force, but immediately before departure, the ship was completely cleared of them in order to avoid violating local legislation and creating additional, unnecessary tension.
The contract with the Italian company was concluded in the amount of 280 million euros in 2013. The agreement provides for the creation and delivery of eight aircraft to Poland. In addition, the Polish military will receive special flight simulators. The firm will also be fully responsible for the training of all engineering and flight personnel of the Polish Air Force. The competence of the Italians will also include full-fledged, long-term maintenance of the aircraft they sell.
The first pair of M-346s will be delivered to Poland in November 2016. The remaining six aircraft will arrive in Poland in February, May and October 2017. All of these aircraft will be based in the fourth aviation wing, stationed in Deblin.
Contract with Ukraine
Until the end of autumn 2016, 40 R-27R1 missiles, which are manufactured by the Kyiv Artyom State Chemical Combine, will be delivered to the 23rd tactical air base in Minsk-Mazovetsky. These medium-range missiles, which have a semi-active radar guidance system, will be installed on the upgraded MiG-29 of the Polish Air Force.
Air defense system
Speaking of Poland's ground-based air defense, it is impossible not to notice that the NATO member state has alreadyhas several batteries of the American Patriot anti-aircraft missile system. Also, air defense is maintained by 13 S-125 air defense divisions, one S-200 and one Krug regiment each, which are already outdated to some extent, but still they are quite capable of carrying out full-fledged combat duty.
