Eurofighter offers Typhoon for Polish air force

[+Erik 1,805]

 

Eurofighter offers Typhoon for Polish air force

 

Flight Global -- By Bartosz Glowacki

 

The Eurofighter consortium has made its debut appearance at Poland’s International Defence Industry Exhibition (MSPO) in Kielce, with the Typhoon being promoted as a potential replacement for the nation’s RSK MiG-29 and Sukhoi Su-22M4 strike aircraft.

 

With sources suggesting that Poland’s defence ministry plans to upgrade some of its current assets, Eurofighter representatives say: “The price of the [Typhoon] aircraft, its servicing and maintenance costs during the next 30-40 years would be not higher than extending the life of ex-Soviet aircraft until 2028.”

 

A campaign to sell the Typhoon to Warsaw would be supported by EADS and Finmeccanica, which would each offer industrial partnerships and technology transfer. Poland could also access the training and logistics lessons learned by Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK, plus export user Austria, sources say.

 

The Polish air force should retire the last of its remaining 48 Su-22s in 2011-12, but there have been suggestions that this could be extended until 2016. Their removal would leave a fighter gap between the service’s current 31 MiG-29s and 48 Lockheed Martin F-16C/Ds, as the defence ministry has outlined a need to retain a strength of eight frontline squadrons equipped with 120 modern combat aircraft. A planned acquisition of 16 advanced jet trainer/lead-in fighter trainers with some combat capabilities would only slightly narrow the capability gap.

 

The Typhoon is also being offered to other central European countries, including the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Flight Global

[+JonathanRL 974]

Poland ought to go Gripen. Its by far the cheapest Aircraft around.

[JediMaster 451]

Besides, is the Typhoon as capable in the ground attack role as even the Su-22, let alone the Gripen?

The Typhoon is more impressive from some aspects, but I don't know if it's what Poland needs.

[macelena 1,070]

Replace the Su-22s with F-16s and the MiG-29s with the EF2000s. That would make sense. Besides, i think that Poland should have this kind or air-superiority fighter. Just in case.

[SFP1Ace 33]

Unfortunately I've got a feeling my country will enter 3rd decade of this century with less that 100 modern fighters...Our defence budget is only 1.95% GDP and most of the expenditures go to the Army, then the Airforce and the Navy is almost forgotten...Thank God that a war with Germany or Russia is nowadays something of a madman's dream rather that even a distinct possibility.....

[JediMaster 451]

Yes, if only because neither of them are willing to spend money on the military any more than yours is.

 

No, the growth area is in south/east Asia when it comes to countries capable of having global effects. They as of yet are still little capable of operations away from their borders, but they're heading that way.

 

You know, I was just thinking the reason countries like N Korea, Pakistan, and Iran all look to get nukes is because of what they saw happen to Russia in the last 20 years. Its military really did turn into a shell of its former self that was capable only of self defense. Yet, it is still a word player that is ignored at a country's own peril because of its large nuclear arsenal. With nukes you can hold a country hostage without even having the ability to attack it directly with conventional weapons. The reason the US is attacked anyway is we've shown an unwillingness to use them after WWII, so it's only what our conventional forces can do that is taken into consideration.

After all, N Korea talks about nuking US forces that may attempt to fight it, but it makes no acknowledgement that we can nuke it back 10x over...because they know we really won't unless they're a LOT more powerful than they will be in any near future.

[SFP1Ace 33]

That's an interesting POV mate. So you recon U.S. wouldn't retaliate with nukes even if NKorea would drop several nukes on US/SKorean forces in a hypothetical conflict? BTW, did you know that polish (communist) government had a secret nuclear program to acquire nukes to have bargaining chip against Uncle Joe (in the '70s). They even managed to smuggle kritronic (or whatever it's called) device out of US and there were plans to conduct test explosions in shafts drilled in Carpathian or Sudety Mountains. Luckily for us this never came to fruition and the program was abandoned. I read it in a newspaper few years ago so I'm not sure how much truth there is to it....

Edited September 14, 2010 by SFP1Ace

[JediMaster 451]

If another country drops nukes first, then I'd say all bets are off. I can't imagine strategic nukes being used, though, because of how many civilians would be torched. Using them in the old WWIII/Central Europe way, with kt-yield weapons dropped on their forces, perhaps.

However, in a conventional battle going south I don't see the US being the one to take that route first unless it was an invasion of our borders that we were failing to repel. A nuke on the rear lines (away from our soil but hitting reserves/logistics) to cut off their thrust then would be conceivable.