the account in the plans, the situation has remained unchanged.
Taking the above into account, to maintain the potential, at
least quantitatively and personnel-wise, the PAF implemented a
programme aimed at extending the lifetimes of the legacy jets,
with additional equipment and avionics integrated on them as
well. Between 2013 and 2014 sixteen MiG-29 were modernized.
The Su-22 were overhauled and retrofitted with new hardware
between 2015 and 2017. It needs to be emphasized - the scope
of undertaken work had no, or only a slight impact on the
combat potential of those legacy and obsolete platforms. The
effort was focused on the lifecycle extension and modernization
of navigation systems and the IFF system. The assumptions
adopted by the planning staff at the General Staff were that the
Su-22 could remain active until 2028, with MiG-29 staying in
service until 2030.
After the works came to an end it seemed that the "equipment
deficiencies" in the Air Force have been rectified. This was
somewhat in contrast with the dramatic condition of the land-
based air defenses. The component in question, thanks to the
Wisła MRAD and Narew SHORAD programs, was the one where
most of the technical modernization budget was to be allocated.
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