Tag Archives: PZL Mielec

Air, Air Force, Fighters

Global F-16 Program

PZL Mielec, a Lockheed Martin company and one of Poland’s longest established aircraft manufacturers, is to be a manufacturing partner for one of the world’s most successful fighter aircraft programs. Beginning next year, PZL Mielec will build components and assemblies for the latest generation F-16 Fighting Falcon Block 70/72, sustaining around 200 jobs, with approximately 60 new jobs being created.

F-16 Fighting Falcon Block 70/72
PZL Mielec to manufacture major assemblies for global F-16 Fighting Falcon program

This development marks a significant new milestone for PZL Mielec, which was last involved in the production of fighter aircraft in the 1960s.

Beginning next year, PZL Mielec will manufacture the rear fuselage, center fuselage, cockpit structure, cockpit side panel and forward equipment bay for new production F-16s, exporting the aerostructures to Lockheed Martin’s final assembly line in Greenville, South Carolina.

«Today’s announcement underlines our commitment to PZL Mielec and to growing Lockheed Martin’s industrial footprint in Poland, where we currently employ around 1,600 people directly and sustain work for more than 5,000 others in the Polish supply chain», says Robert Orzylowski, Lockheed Martin director for Poland, Central and East Europe.

«During our 20+ year strategic partnership with Poland, we’ve delivered technology transfer, research and development opportunities, long-term sustainable high technology jobs, growth and exports», Orzylowski adds. «Poland’s acquisition of the F-35 opened the door for a further expansion of this relationship and helped enable today’s exciting announcement».

With orders already secured for the F-16 Fighting Falcon Block 70/72 from five customers, global interest remains high for new-build production aircraft and for F-16V Fighting Falcon upgrades.

Poland has operated F-16s in its own fleet for the past 15 years, and this summer marked a 100,000 flight-hour milestone.

«The F-16 Fighting Falcon remains a critical part of the Polish Air Force», says Danya Trent, Lockheed Martin vice president, F-16 Fighting Falcon program. «This new production work at PZL Mielec will further ensure Poland is part of the F-16 Fighting Falcon global enterprise for many years to come».

Beyond the F-16 Fighting Falcon, Poland is also procuring 32 F-35s, the first of which will be delivered in 2024. The complementary capabilities and interoperability between both fighter aircraft types serves to strengthen Poland’s airpower capabilities and enables partnerships across missions, training, equipment and tactics with other NATO members.

Air

Polish Black Hawk

During the MSPO International Defence Industry Exhibition, PZL Mielec, a Lockheed Martin company displayed an S-70i Armed Black Hawk helicopter fitted with a single-station external stores pylon. Designed at PZL Mielec as a lighter weight, lower cost alternative to currently fielded dual-station external wings, a single-station pylon attached to one or both sides of the aircraft will be compatible with the advanced weapon system that allows Black Hawk pilot gunners to support battlefield operations using forward firing guns, rockets and air-to-ground missiles.

An S-70i Black Hawk helicopter at the MSPO trade show carries a lightweight single-station external stores pylon supporting four Hellfire air-to-ground missiles. The prototype pylon’s drop design offers a wide field of fire to the crew-served machine gun, which also can be locked into a fixed forward position for control by a pilot gunner

«We’re developing the single-station pylon in response to requests by militaries across Europe, Latin America and Asia for a battlefield support helicopter that can be armed for different types of missions that may not always need four weapons stations», said Janusz Zakręcki, president, general director of PZL Mielec. «Operators can arm the aircraft for suppressive fire, surveillance, armed reconnaissance, armed escort and air assault missions, and still carry out other utility roles whenever pylons and stores must remain on the aircraft».

At a quarter the cost and weight of a dual-station wing, a pylon can be removed or attached by two people in 15 minutes, produces less drag during flight, offers a wider field of fire to window or door gunners, and opens more space to hoist a litter into the aircraft while in a hover.

For large targets, a pylon will be able to carry HELLFIRE or Spike air-to-ground missile launchers. A pylon also can extend aircraft range with an 80-gallon/303-liters external fuel tank.

As a complementary option for the S-70i/S-70M Armed Black Hawk with dual-station wings, the single station pylon will integrate with the aircraft’s weapons management system that calculates the range and complex ballistics required for pilot gunners to engage targets with high accuracy and reliability from stand-off distances during day and night operations.

PZL Mielec expects to begin airworthiness flight testing of the prototype pylon design in 2020.

Air Force

Armed Black Hawk

Lockheed Martin is exploring options to bring its weapons integration expertise to bear on the European S-70 Black Hawk helicopters made by Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin Company. The goal is to produce an armed kit scalable to the requirements of customers that procure Black Hawk aircraft direct from Lockheed Martin.

Lockheed Martin unveiled a European-built Sikorsky Black Hawk helicopter at the Farnborough International Airshow
Lockheed Martin unveiled a European-built Sikorsky Black Hawk helicopter at the Farnborough International Airshow

«Last year’s acquisition of Sikorsky by Lockheed Martin has widened the aperture of possibilities for arming the Black Hawk helicopter», said Bill Gostic, vice president, Sikorsky Global Military Systems & Services. «Lockheed Martin brings integration expertise that will allow us to customize an armed configuration – for defensive or offensive operations – to the specific preferences of current and future Black Hawk customers, and with weapons of their choice».

During the ongoing Farnborough International Airshow, Lockheed Martin is displaying outside its pavilion an armed Black Hawk aircraft manufactured at Sikorsky’s PZL Mielec factory in Poland, and with the cockpit section manufactured at Aero Vodochody in the Czech Republic. The display represents the types of weapons Lockheed Martin can integrate onto the medium-lift military utility platform that’s renowned for its multirole capabilities.

Armed external wings on either side of the displayed aircraft feature a total of four weapons stations for fire suppression and elimination of armored targets, with launchers for a mix of Hellfire and Direct Attack Guided Rocket (DAGR) air-to-ground missiles, a 19-shot Hydra-70 rocket pod, and an FN Herstal Belgium manufactured rocket machine gun pod. For laser designating of a future weapons system, the aircraft’s cockpit chin features the INFIRNO sensor system.

Crew-served weapons inside the displayed aircraft include an FN Herstal .50-caliber (12.7-mm) machine gun mounted to the cabin floor, and window-mounted 7.62-mm mini-guns. The mini-guns can also swing into a fixed forward firing position to be for operated by the pilot.

Depending on the chosen weapons configuration, the cabin can seat troops for armed assault and close air support of ground troop missions. Alternatively, the cabin can store additional ammunition for the guns and rocket pods, and an internal 200 gallon/757 L auxiliary fuel tank system for extended range and endurance required for armed escort missions.

Armed solutions are scalable – from crew served door guns to a fully integrated weapons system controlled from the cockpit by either pilot
Armed solutions are scalable – from crew served door guns to a fully integrated weapons system controlled from the cockpit by either pilot