Poland Eyes Su-22, MiG-29 Upgrades

Aviation Week and Space Technology ^ | 10/21/2010 | Robert Wall

[ErnstStavroBlofeld]

The Polish defense ministry is evaluating upgrades to its Su-22 and MiG-29 force to sustain its fighter inventory even as it looks to field a new trainer that also would take on light fighter roles.

Decisions on the Su-22 are most acute, since the first of the aircraft will reach the end of its service life in 2014. The near-term plan is to add 200 flight hours, or two years of operational life. This would allow delaying a decision on what to do next until 2016, says Tadeusz Pieciukiewicz, a ministry representative.

The question then becomes whether to pursue a more extensive service-life-extension program with a major systems upgrade or scrap the aircraft first bought in the mid- to late 1980s. The upgrade would add a databus, avionics and the ability to drop Western weapons, Pieciukiewicz tells the IQPC International Fighter 2010 conference in London. But such a program “looks very costly,” he warns. Poland currently is reducing its Su-22 fleet to 32 units.

Also in the plan is a far more extensive upgrade of some MiG-29s to add 20 more years (or 4,000 flight hours) to one squadron of 16 fighters. It would keep the fighter in service until 2029.

The scope of the upgrade program is still under review, although it also will have to include addressing fatigue issues that are being discovered in Russia.

[SanFranDan]

Can someone please explain why Poland buys Russian Military equipment? Especially after the Poles lost their President and upper echelon political structure in the recent plane crash in Russia? Since the Poles are our allies, wouldn’t they buy American?

[Yo-Yo]

They have. They've purchased 48 F-16s.

[cunning_fish]

East Block maintainance philosophy is about to leave parked planes to a weather.
I don’t think it may work good for their F-16s.
Even a Russian legacy fighter like Mig-29 needs more care.
As for Su-22s upgrading it is a joke. It was old absolete piece of equipment back to a late 80s. I thought they only left in Subsaharian Africa to fly over dictators’ parades.