Frag Out! Magazine

For years, Bieszczady Mountains, surrounded by the aura of wilderness, have been the place for final selection phase to all Polish special forces units. Of course, the best period for such activities it the turn of autumn and winter, when the candidates must struggle not only with cold, but also with snow or – at best – with the legendary mud of Bieszczady Mountains. That was also the case in this year, when "Biesy" as the mountains are called commonly, helped in checking the determination of candidates wanting to join the Formoza naval special warfare unit (JW Formoza or JWF). It also occurred that crews of 7.EDS were nearby with their proprietary Mil Mi-17 (NATO code: Hip) helicopters fitted with external pylons. The flight plan included tasks in cooperation with Formoza operators as well as "standard" flights in the mountains. At the beginning, the weather in region was unfavorable and the relocation from the base of Powidz (including refueling in Kraków) was quite a challenge. Later on, as the same time as the thawing (and rapid melting of snow in the mountains) began, the skies became perfectly blue. That is why 7.EDS was able to perform all the planned tasks. In the region of mountain ranges laying within the radius of operations of helicopters, a major limitation is usually caused by areas constituting natural reservations. The situation is the same in the case of Bieszczady Mountains, where the Bieszczadzki National Park covers almost all the highest mountain peaks and the majority of mountain passes, which forced the teams to properly plan their flights. Among the tasks performed with the operators of the Formoza naval special warfare unit was the operation of tactical transport concerning two quad ATVs with its crews. It is a rather unusual to see a helicopter transporting a vehicle (or carrying it under the hull) in Polish military. Not minding that fact, the helicopters crews and the operators improved the procedure of loading and unloading of the 4x4 ATVs (the heavier one weighted 300 kg). The Mi-17 helicopters used by 7.EDS does not have the loading ramp in the back of cargo bay (like, for example, in the case of Czech helicopters), so in order to enable vehicles to drive onto the board of the helicopter, the rear doors must be removed, side benches for soldiers dismantled, and special driveways used. The procedure includes driving the vehicle forward onto the deck and, of course, fastening it with safety belts, so that it doesn't move during the flight. The drive from the deck to the surface is performed backwards, with the help of the air gunner who positions himself under the tail boom and "cuts off" the tail rotor, preventing people getting around it. After several dry runs, the crews and the operators were ready to conduct the procedure on landing zone. Thanks to good cooperation and skills of both parties, the loading/ unloading operation "with the rotors on" took about 100 seconds, which would have significant meaning in combat conditions. It is also worthwhile mentioning that, apart from filling the interior of Mi-17 with two 4x4 ATVs, the helicopter could take several additional operators – and by the amount of space left, one may thing then even a dozen would fit there as well. It is quite peculiar within the context of Blackhawk helicopters that are spoken to be delivered to 7.EDS in order to replace Mi-17 at 1:1 ratio (it is said that the purchase will include eight helicopters). In the case of the US helicopter, transport of any wheeled vehicle used by SOF is out of the question, not even mentioning taking the operators on board (of course, the situation is the same in the case of the previously announced Caracal – but in that case, there is an advantage of the ability to transport more people on board). Then, one should notice that there are areas in which new helicopters expand the possibilities of 7.EDS, but there are some aspects that actually lower the capabilities of www.fragoutmag.com

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