Frag Out! Magazine
Issue link: https://fragout.uberflip.com/i/1365706
Norway. Poland received five submarines as such in total. Five were serving in the Navy, one became a source of spares for the remaining vessels. As the Polish sailors took over the Kob- ben-class subs, they had already been operated by Norway for 35 years. Combat capabilities were dubious, at best. The Kob- ben vessels were to act as a short-term gap filler, to allow the sailors to maintain their currency, as they were waiting for more modern vessels. The Kobben era in the Polish Navy is coming to an end, as the obsolete submarines are being decommissioned, one by one. ORP "Kondor" was withdrawn in 2017, ORP "Sokół" was decom- missioned in 2018. This year, the last two remaining vessels (ORP "Bielik", and ORP "Sęp") would be withdrawn. The latter two have been actively used for 55 years, and formally still are a part of the Polish Navy's inventory. They are a part of the inventory, only to undergo a process of equipment removal, before hand- ing them off to the Polish Military Property Agency. According to the announcement made by the Gdynia Navy Harbour Com- mand on January 25th, the element is seeking a contractor who would remove the batteries and halon-based fire extinguishing systems from the submarines. The work is to be completed during 2021 Q1. This is just a formality. The Polish Navy would be left with a sin- gle, obsolete, incapacitated submarine. ried out by SMW, and then by the PGZ Group's shipyard, did not solve all of the problems. Proof? The announcements were made by the Gdynia naval base, seeking potential contractors, to carry out further work concerning ORP Orzeł. The Polish Navy has been, without any effect, looking for a contractor that could overhaul the sonars for 4 years. The first tendering procedure pertaining to the MGK-400E passive-active sonar, MG-519E mine countermeasure sonar, and MG-512E sonar measuring the boat's own signature was launched in 2014 and called off immediately after - as no bids were submitted. More attempts were made during the upcoming years. The last one - also fail- ing - was made in 2018. Finally, a contractor was found in 2020. The company in question decided to carry out repairs, including repairs concerning Orzeł's sonar suite. Even if ORP Orzeł was fully capable now, its capacity would still be limited. Compared to the Kobben-class, the Polish Kilo is quite young, but still, it is 35 years old. Its electronics and ar- mament have never been upgraded. Orzeł is one of the oldest Kilo-class vessels that still remain in service. Even though ex- ternally the vessel is no different from the more modern sub- marines of the class operated by Algeria or Vietnam, realistically the gap between them is huge - with the latter vessels using far more modern armament and onboard systems. Up until recently, the Polish Navy also operated the smaller Kobben submarines. These were commissioned between 2002 and 2004. Kobbens were second-hand vessels procured from www.fragoutmag.com