Frag Out! Magazine
Issue link: https://fragout.uberflip.com/i/861022
Two Bombardier Q400 turboprop airliners symbolized the entry to the civilian market. The airliners are owned by a leasing company that has engaged WZL nr 2 S.A. to maintain them in good working order until the aircraft will be sold to a new owner. Apart from painting services provided by Service and Painting Center, the said type of services is to be one of the elements of the strategy to enter the market. There have been ten painting orders for civilian aircraft so far, and the gained experience should turn into new contracts in the near future. The first day abounded with events related to increasing- ly accelerating programs of purchasing unmanned aerial vehicles for the Polish Armed Forces. The most important of them was that involving signing of a license agreement between the Military Institute of Armament Technology and WZL nr 2 S.A. for production of DragonFly UAVs. It was the second such agreement as on 9 May, MIAT signed a memorandum of understanding on production of war- heads with Bydgoszcz-based Belma S.A. The license for both elements paves the way to the end of the talks with MND and to the purchase of a system for e.g. Territorial Defense Forces. According to WZL nr 2 S.A.'s representa- tives, the first DragonFly UAVs are to be supplied even in 2017 and these will be used for training and demonstra- tion purposes. Fully operational UAVs are to be supplied in 2018. The second UAV-related highlight of the fair was signing an agreement establishing a ORLIK consortium which mission is to supply the E-310 UAV through joint efforts of PGZ S.A., WZL nr 2 S.A., and PIT-Radwar S.A. As revealed earlier, there have been negotiations with the Armaments Inspectorate underway since December 2016 concerning a contract for 12 such systems. To this end, there are currently investment works carried out in WZL nr 2 S.A., including e.g. construction of a composite facility. Apart from the market of VIP aircraft and military UAS, an- other potential direction of development for WZL nr 2 S.A. may be also export of services involving maintenance of aircraft produced in the USSR/Russia. A vital signal in this context may be the fact that a delegation from the Ukraine, led by the commander of Ukrainian Air Force, was present at the Air Fair. WZL nr 2 S.A.'s management say openly they are interested in cooperation in this area, offering a possibility to provide the Ukraine with MiG-29-compatible products manufactured locally. This may actually be a two-way cooperation as the renovation-manufacturing companies operating on the Ukrainian market have prov- en to offer a broad range of products and services. Other Polish companies also exhibited a number of inter- esting developments. WZU S.A., for instance, presented its SAND, a system of detection, identification and natu- ralization of UAVs, which received a second class Air Fair prize. The presented version of the system was placed fully inside an HMMWV, which makes it possible to main- tain high mobility. ITWL showcased its MAUS V system designed for non-destructive testing of the structure of aircraft owned and used by the Polish Air Force. TELDAT booth was interesting to visit as well. This was the first TRADE SHOWS