Airforces Monthly - February 2017

WZL-2 MRO FACILITY
scheduled to return by early 2017.
The first stage of the latest Fitter
avionics and equipment upgrade includes
installation of a Polish-built Unimor
RS6113-2 VHF/UHF communications radio
and another new control panel for the
existing Russian R-862 VHF/UHF radio.
Designed and manufactured at WZL-2, the
panel is attached to the upper left-hand
side of the instrument panel. The upgrade
converts cockpit flight and navigation
instruments from metric to Imperial units.
The second stage, scheduled for late
2016 and into the new year, replaces
the Tester-U3L magnetic tape flight
data recorder with the new Polish S2-3A
solid-state crash-resistant device.
It further involves the addition of a new
digital video recorder that will look through
the Su-22M4’s S-17VG electro-optical
sight — replacing the wet film camera
gun — as well as recording audio from
the pilot’s microphone and headset.
The new PPK-1E mission data loading system
will meanwhile be installed to replace the
original Soviet PPK-23K-1 apparatus, which
used old-fashioned ‘perfocards’ (pieces of
paper with holes acting as binary code)
to feed data into the flight program.
The new system transfers mission data,
prepared on the ground, from a CF (compact
flash memory) card directly into the Su-22M4’s
Orbita-20-22 digital computer. Uploaded
via a new control panel, the data supports
all navigation and weapons functions.
Fulcrum life extension
Kowalczewski notes that the Fulcrum is
far more complicated than the Fitter,
A Polish C-130E during the final phase of PDM in WZL-2’s newest building,
Hercules in the pipeline
WZL-2 deals with the programmed depot
maintenance (PDM) of the SPRP’s five-strong
C-130E Hercules fleet, received second-hand
from the US in 2009-10. One has already been
through PDM, the work being carried out in a
hangar at the type’s Powidz home base owing
to a lack of space at WZL-2.
The second SPRP Hercules, 1502, went
through PDM in a newly built hangar at WZL-2.
Completed in late 2015 and costing around
€11m, the facility opened officially last October.
Work on C-130E 1502 began at the plant in
January 2016, for scheduled redelivery by the
end of the year. A third C-130E went into PDM
at WZL-2 in mid-October.
Above: WZL-2-owned Su-22M4 9305 served as a demonstrator for upgrade work and a new grey camouflage.
It also sports experimental low-visibility national insignia, although the SPRP opted to retain the older,
distinctive red and white, based on Poland’s national flag.
although WZL-2 has ample expertise
to deal with the 31-strong SPRP fleet of
the Russian-built fighter. Between 2011
and 2014 it completed a $48.5m MiG-29
upgrade acting as prime contractor, with
Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) providing
avionics components and integration
assistance as the primary subcontractor.
The task involved 13 single-seat and three
two-seat aircraft, all of which are assigned
to 1 Eskadra Lotnictwa Taktycznego
(ELT; Tactical Air Squadron). Equipped
with Western avionics for basic NATO
compatibility, the first upgraded jet, a
single-seater serialled 89, made its first
The Hercules PDM work includes airframe
disassembly and a detailed structural
inspection and examination of all components
and systems, with repairs and replacement
as necessary. Kowalczewski says that many
technical issues are emerging with the 40-year
old aircraft.
The original equipment manufacturer,
Lockheed Martin, has certified WZL-2
to perform the PDM, while US company
Kihomac provides support for the type’s depot
inspection and repair: six of its employees
are permanently assigned to the task, helping
WZL-2 maintain the ageing fleet safely and
efficiently.
test flight at Bydgoszcz in March 2013 and
was redelivered to 1 ELT in July that year.
The programme was completed on
handover of the last aircraft on November
4, 2014. All 16 of the upgraded MiG-29s
were life-extended to 40 years/4,000 hours.
The modernised aircraft boasts an openarchitecture
avionics suite designed
by WZL-2 and IAI. New US and Israeli
components, integrated through a dual
MIL‐STD-1553B digital data bus, include a 5
× 4in multi-function colour display, mission
and display processor mission computer,
embedded GPS/INS navigation system
with selective availability anti-spoofing
module, up-front control panel, air data
computer, digital video recorder, and a gun
camera that records information displayed
on the jet’s ILS-31 head-up display.
The communication suite was enhanced
with the Rockwell Collins RT-8200 UHF/
VHF radio (also known as AN/ARC-210
Talon), including Have Quick I/II and
Second-Generation Anti-Jam UHF Radio
for NATO (SATURN) encryption modes. A
ground mission planning and debriefing
system was incorporated into the mission
planning system and the Polish S2-3a
digital crash-resistant flight data recorder
replaced the original Tester-U3L.
The WZL-2 plant is overhauling and
verification-checking the Polish MiG‐29
fleet, working on 1 ELT’s upgraded Mińsk
Mazowiecki-based aircraft and a nonupgraded
ex-Luftwaffe aircraft with 41
ELT at Malbork. The modernised jets are
scheduled to serve the SPRP until 2028,
while 41 ELT’s aircraft are earmarked for
retirement between 2018 and 2020.
Heavy maintenance checks are conducted
at WZL-2 every six years and the facility is
involved in scheduled airframe inspections
at the 150 and 300-flight hour marks.
Several former Luftwaffe Fulcrums
held at WZL-2 are used as spare parts
donors. A little-used ex-Bulgarian Air
Force MiG‐29 airframe, serialled 19 and
grounded without engines since the late
1990s, has apparently been bought —
disassembled — for the same purpose.
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#347 FEBRUARY 2017
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