Poland Eyes Procurement of Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance/SIGINT Aircraft.

150609-N-MV308-001 KANEOHE BAY, Hawaii (June 9, 2015) Sailors assigned to the Skinny Dragons of Patrol Squadron (VP) 4 perform a man-on-the-stand coordinated check on a P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft. Coordinated checks are done on a routine basis to ensure proper functioning of the aircraft and continued mission readiness and performance. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Amber Porter/Released)

The Polish Ministry of Defense plans to acquire a new MPA and a new spyplane.

As Dziennik Zbrojny reports, on Apr. 5, the Armament Inspectorate of the Polish Ministry of Defense has initiated a procedure to acquire a complex aerial reconnaissance system, also known under the name “Płomykówka” (Barn Owl).

The first stage of the said program, the goal of which is to acquire SIGINT, IMINT and RADINT capable platform (Signal, Imagery and Radio intelligence) took on the form of a detailed market analysis.

According to the information obtained from the AI (Armament Inspectorate) by the Dziennik Zbrojny’s editorial team, the first phase is to end in mid 2017.

Meanwhile, the “Rybitwa” (Tern) program initiated in April, focused on maritime reconnaissance and Anti-Submarine/Anti-Ship Warfare, is to be finalized in September 2018.

The procurement timeline, at the moment, remains confidential, to a degree so high that there is no knowledge available whether the programs have been covered within the “Technical Modernization Plan” implemented by the MoD between 2017 and 2022.

The Inspectorate solely claims that Płomykówka task has a priority, over the Rybitwa initiative, and that the implementation proceeds as planned.

Tomasz Dmitruk of Dziennik Zbrojny had acquired some relevant information pertaining to that matter earlier, and the publicly available knowledge suggested that three reconnaissance aircraft were to be acquired within the “Płomykówka” program, with the “Rybitwa” maritime patrol/reconnaissance assets scheduled to be procured later. The latter program assumes that three Maritime Patrol Aircraft would be acquired between 2023 and 2030.

Image Credit: Wikimedia

About Jacek Siminski
Standing contributor for TheAviationist. Aviation photojournalist. Co-Founder of DefensePhoto.com. Expert in linguistics, Cold War discourse, Cold War history and policy and media communications.