DEFENCE
20 | Flight International | 18-31 August 2015 flightglobal.com
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oland’s defence ministry has
reacted angrily to sugges-
tions in the nation’s media that it
broke procurement rules by se-
lecting the Airbus Helicopters
H225M for a 50-unit multi-role
rotorcraft tender.
Warsaw is already facing a
legal challenge from one of the
competition’s losing bidders –
AgustaWestland subsidiary PZL
Swidnik – over the way the con-
test was handled, and the latest
allegations have added to the out-
cry over its decision.
But in a lengthy statement post-
ed on the defence ministry’s web-
site, its legal director Col Mariusz
Tomaszewski defends the acquisi-
tion process and says a report in
the Wprost weekly contains “inac-
curate and false information”.
Wprost says that four months
on from the selection of the
H225M in April for the tri-service
deal, the contract is no closer to
being finalised – particularly
around industrial offsets. With
national elections due in the au-
T
he US Air Force’s lead pair of
“combat-coded” Lockheed
Martin F-35A Lightning IIs have
come off the company’s assembly
line at Fort Worth in Texas, with
the second aircraft having com-
pleted its debut flight on 4 August.
Aircraft numbers AF-77 and
AF-78 are now being readied for
delivery to Hill AFB in Utah,
where they will be flown by the
USAF’s first operational F-
unit, the 34th Fighter Squadron.
Formerly equipped with Lock-
heed F-16s, this was reactivated
in July and aims to declare initial
operational capability with at
least 12 F-35As in August 2016.
“Very soon, both AF-77 and
AF-78 will be taking off from HillA
fghanistan’s air force has used
its MD530F Cayuse Warrior
scout-attack rotorcraft in combat
for the first time, while MD Heli-
copters works to add M260 70mm
rocket launchers and a fixed-for-
ward weapon sight to its fleet.
Aircraft armed with 50-calibre
machine guns and ballistic ar-
mour protection operated along-
side Afghan Mil Mi-17 transport
helicopters on 11 August, against
insurgents near Jalalabad.
Afghanistan has flown the
MD530F since 2011, initially for
pilot training. Last year it contract-
ed MD Helicopters to adapt an
eventual 17 of the type to a “Jengi”
gunship configuration. ■
CONTRACT DOMINIC PERRY LONDON
Warsaw defends selection of H225M
Polish media reports suggest procurement rules were broken following choice of Caracal for 50-unit tri-service requirement
OPERATIONS
Gunship debut
for MD530F in
Afghanistan
CAPABILITY JAMES DREW WASHINGTON DCUSAF squadron all set to welcome
first pair of combat-rated F-35As
AF-77 and AF-78 are being readied for delivery to Hill AFB in UtahLockheed MartinAnthony Pecchi/Airbus Helicopters
The selected type meets critical parameters, says defence ministrytumn, it suggests that officials
from both the defence and eco-
nomic affairs ministries are anx-
ious to leave any decision to the
next government.
The report also claims that the
H225M Caracal failed to satisfy a
number of criteria in Warsaw’s
tender specification, rendering its
selection invalid. These include
the lack of a folding tail boom, is-
sues with the target designator
and the speed with which thecabin can be reconfigured. Given
these issues, Wprost questions
how the type could have been
picked over the competing Agus-
taWestland AW149 and Sikor-
sky’s S-70i Black Hawk and
S-70B Seahawk.
Tomaszewski counters that the
acquisition process was entirely
legal and above board, and insists
that the competing offers “did not
meet the formal requirements” of
the tender. During verification tri-als in May the Caracal satisfied
all of the 32 “critical parameters”
tested, he says, adding that Air-
bus Helicopters has promised to
deliver the required specification- including items like the folding
tail boom for the 14-15 examples
destined for Polish navy service.
Negotiations with the manufac-
turer to determine the final con-
tract value are ongoing, he says.
Previous reports have suggest-
ed the acquisition is worth up to
Zl13 billion ($3.5 billion), but
Tomaszewski says the final figure
will not be known until the
conclusion of negotiations cover-
ing the provision of “a training
package, simulator, and the con-
struction of a logistics centre”.
Airbus Helicopters will
localise production of the Caracal
as part of the deal, in partnership
with Lodz-based WZL-1.
AgustaWestland and Sikorsky
both already have local manufac-
turing capabilities through their
respective PZL Swidnik and PZL
Mielec subsidiaries. ■
AFB,” says the squadron’s parent
unit, the 388th Fighter Wing.
Lockheed has already begun
delivering parts and supplies to
the base to sustain the first few
aircraft, due to arrive in Septem-
ber. The Ogden Air Logistics
Center at the same site also is theprimary location for depot main-
tenance of the A-model fighter.
As of 20 July, Lockheed had
delivered 65 F-35As to the USAF,
plus four to international custom-
ers. The former’s programme of
record calls for the production of
1,763 of the aircraft. ■