Service Center for Helicopters of the Polish Armed Forces

Jerzy Gruszczynski and Maciej Szopa talk to Marcin Notcun, Chairman of the Board of Wojskowe Zakłady Lotnicze Nr 1 SA, about their potential, functioning in the structures of Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa and the new management philosophy.

Jerzy Gruszczynski and Maciej Szopa talk to Marcin Notcun, Chairman of the Board of Wojskowe Zakłady Lotnicze Nr 1 SA, about their potential, functioning in the structures of Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa and the new management philosophy.

This year, at the International Defense Industry Exhibition in Kielce, Wojskowe Zakłady Lotnicze No. 1 SA hosted one of the most exciting aviation exhibitions...

We planned to present our company in a different way than usual - to show what it is doing now and what actions it plans to take in the future to support the Polish Armed Forces in maintaining the operational capabilities of the helicopters they use. We showed these competencies within the framework of three sectors of the exhibition. The first concerned overhauls, maintenance and repair of helicopters and engines. You could see models of the Mi-17 and Mi-24 platforms, as well as the aircraft engine TW3-117, which is serviced and repaired in our branch in Deblin. It was a sector directly focused on the opportunities that we already have and which we will develop, in particular, by entering the external market. We have the ability to repair helicopters of the following families: Mi-2, Mi-8, Mi-14, Mi-17 and Mi-24. We are a leader in this respect and would like to dominate at least in Central and Eastern Europe, but not only.

Which regions and countries are still at risk?

We have recently repaired, among other things, three Senegalese Mi-24 helicopters. The other two vehicles are currently awaiting pickup by the contractor's representatives. The first refurbished Senegalese helicopter was delivered from Lodz airport on board the An-124 Ruslan transport aircraft to the user at the beginning of this year. In the meantime, we are conducting extensive commercial negotiations with other operators of Mi helicopters. In the next few months, we plan to hold a series of meetings with representatives from Africa and South America. In October of this year. we host, inter alia, representatives of the armed forces of the Republic of Ghana, and in November we intend to meet with representatives of the armed forces of Pakistan. As for Mi helicopters, we have a very good base: equipment, infrastructure, qualified personnel. Customers who have the opportunity to get acquainted with the processes of repair, maintenance and service are positively surprised by their high level, professionalism and our competencies, so we see opportunities to enter new markets.

What was the scale of modernization of the Senegalese helicopters?

This concerned mainly avionics. We also installed a camera, a GPS system and new motors from Motor-Sicz.

Do you often cooperate with Ukrainian companies?

We have a very good cooperation with them, especially when it comes to finding parts for helicopters.

What other aspects of your work did you present at MSPO?

Modernization was the second presented sector of our exhibition. They showed the possibilities of integrating helicopters with new weapons. We presented a 24mm machine gun integrated with the Mi-12,7W manufactured by Zakłady Mechaniczne Tarnów SA. It was a single-barreled rifle, but Tarnov also has a four-barreled gun of this caliber. It can replace the currently installed multi-barreled rifle. We have started a technical dialogue on the integration of these weapons.

Did you receive an order from outside for the integration of this particular weapon?

No. This is entirely our idea, which is being implemented with the participation of many domestic companies, mainly PPP enterprises, research institutes, as well as partners from abroad. We are part of the PGZ capital group and try to cooperate primarily with its Polish companies. We want all possible obligations to be fulfilled by Polish companies, achieving a synergistic effect. We are currently in the process of signing a letter of intent with ZM Tarnów for cooperation in the integration of a four-barreled rifle. We are glad that such cooperation and exchange of technical ideas is possible, especially since our engineers consider this weapon to be promising. Cooperation within the PGZ Group is nothing new. During this year's MSPO, we signed an agreement with the Military Central Bureau of Design and Technology SA regarding aircraft ground handling equipment, both as part of new helicopter platforms and to support existing capabilities. Our business relationships also include: WSK PZL-Kalisz SA, WZL-2 SA, PSO Maskpol SA and many other PGZ companies.

At the exhibition in Kielce, you also had new rockets and missiles ...

Yes. It was a visual presentation of the possibility of integrating new guided missiles and unguided missiles with the Mi-24, in this case the Thales laser-guided induction missile. However, we are also open to cooperation with other companies, provided, of course, that this new weapon is produced in Poland at the MESKO SA plant, owned by PGZ.

What about anti-tank guided missiles? Who are you talking to?

With several companies - Israeli, American, Turkish ...

Did any of these conversations escalate into a decision to build a demonstrator with a given system?

We plan to demonstrate the ability to adapt the weapons of each of the bidders with a wide media character. It would be great to host representatives of the Ministry of National Defense and the Polish Arms Group and present them with a number of possible modernization options.