Warszawa 2018-10-12
Proud of the Polish Army and Polish Aviation.
On the 100th anniversary of regaining independence by the Republic of Poland.
"A Polish soldier fights for the freedom of all nations, but he dies only for Poland." - General Stanisław Maczek.
The history of Poland is beautiful and wonderful. We are proud of it and we have nothing to be ashamed of. Also, the Polish Army and Polish Aviation, as part of this history, have been and is worthy of respect.
In the extremely long, 1918, the Polish Army reborn efficiently. We have set our borders by force, which have been approved by the greats of this world. We stopped the Muscovite armies led by Tukhachevsky and the illiterate Budyonny. Bolsheviks generously financed by the Germans. Polish Aviation, supported by volunteers from the USA, showed courage in this war.
From 1921, we developed modern aviation, using the considerable help of France. We built new, modern air bases and expanded those left by the partitioning powers. Aviation factories were established in Lublin, Biała Podlaska and Poznań. At the beginning of 30 years, a modern State Aviation Plant was built in Okęcie-Paluch, and a little later in Mielec. Initially, Polish Aviation was based on planes left by the partitioning powers. Then there were purchases in Italy, Great Britain and the most numerous in France. Then there was the production of aircraft in the country under a license. Finally, there were native constructions that were admired and, more importantly, bought by many European countries.
During the 1939 Defense War, we failed to defend our sovereignty. But Polish Soldiers achieved considerable success. It was not a "Walk through Poland" as German airmen were told in August 1939. The first attack of 150 German bombers against Warsaw did not even reach it. 52 PZL P.11 and PZL P.7 fighters, technically weaker than enemy planes, successfully repelled them.
Poland defended itself successfully for over one month. We were supposed to hold out for two weeks until the allies moved. They started - but the mosquitoes (September 17, 1939), eternal brothers of the German race, giving us no chance to create a defense belt in the Lviv region.
The following years were a great combat route for Polish soldiers on various fronts of the Second World War. And at the same time, thousands of fallen Polish Soldiers. After the Second World War, it did not happen as it did after the Great World War, when the 70,000 Polish Army of General Józef Haller came to Poland, joining the structures of the Polish Army. In 1945, the greats of this world decided to disband the Polish Military Units in the West. The weak troops of the Polish People's Army entered Poland alongside the 9-million-strong Russian army. It was the Polish Army like Konstanty Rokossowski was a Pole. But we had no other army. The Home Army self-disbanded, and its members were persecuted and murdered until 1989. Even in 1948, 300,000 Underground soldiers were under arms, hoping for a victorious fight against the new occupant. The last soldier of the armed Underground, Józef Franczak "Lalek", was shot by the communists on October 21, 1963.
The Polish People's Army was barely cleansing itself of typically Russian elements. The Russians officially left the structures of the LWP in 1956. However, subordination links, joint participation in the Warsaw Pact, purchase of new weapons only in the CCCP; were inherent features of the Polish Army. In addition, regular CCCP units with their own bases were stationed in Poland. They only withdrew in 1993, but they left the agency.
After the socio-economic changes in 1989, the Field Ordinariate of the Polish Army returned to the Polish Army.
The enormous achievement of the Polish Army was the accession to the NATO alliance on April 12, 1999.
Currently, Polish Aviation is in a relatively good situation, although it is far from ideal. We have a large percentage of modern equipment. The Air Force has 48 modern Lockheed F-16 Block 52+ Hawk combat aircraft. The single multi-role Lockheed F-16 Block 52+ Hawk combat aircraft has greater potential than a WWII heavy bomber.
In 2016, Lockheed F-16 Block 52+ Jastrząb planes received another type of modern weapon; JASSM missiles. We received 40 JASSM cruise missiles. The relevant contract with Lockheed Martin was signed in 2015. For the price of USD 250 million, Poland has acquired a modern missile capable of precisely hitting targets 300 kilometers away.
We are introducing modern Leonardo M-346 Bielik planes in training aviation. There will be 12 copies of them. They will completely remove the PZL TS-11 Iskra planes from service. Leonardo M-346 Bielik planes allowed for the maintenance of the Eaglets' School, which some Polish-speaking centers wanted to liquidate.
A very important armaments program code-named "Wisła" is being implemented, the key element of which are the Patriot missiles. It will transfer the Polish anti-aircraft defense from the times of the Polish People's Republic in the 21st century.
We have quite a large transport potential. We have: 5 Lockheed Martin C-130 E Hercules aircraft, 16 CASA M-295 M aircraft, 24 PZL M-28 Bryza aircraft. Additionally, we participate in a squadron of three Boeing C-17 A Globemaster III planes stationed at the Papa base in Hungary.
However, that doesn't mean there aren't any problems. Russian Su-22 and MiG-29 planes are still in service. Especially those received from Germany are very worn out. It is getting harder and harder to keep them at a high level of efficiency because there are problems with spare parts. Their service life is extended a little by force.
Once again, we can see what a tragic move was the sale of Polskie Zakłady Lotnicze. Especially PZL Mielec, PZL Świdnik and PZL Okęcie. And it is little consolation that it was done by the post-communist and freemasonry, and not by the Polish Nation. This manure must be systematically removed from the Polish House.
Good changes have taken place in the Polish Army since 2015. The rotating troops of the US Army are stationed in Poland. The first American units were delivered to Poland in early 2017. They strengthened NATO's eastern flank. In 2018, efforts were made to establish a permanent US military base in Poland.
The National Territorial Defense Forces have been created, which are part of the armed forces dedicated to conducting tactical operations in the territory of the country. In fact, it was the reactivation of the National Territorial Defense Forces (OTK), established in 1959 and disbanded in 1989. In the Third Republic of Poland, attempts to create a Territorial Defense Forces similar to those in NATO failed. On January 1, 2017, the law introducing the Territorial Defense Forces, as one of the types of the Polish Armed Forces, entered into force. According to the plans of the Ministry of National Defense, 17 brigades are to be established in Poland by 2019. At the end of 2017, the number of soldiers exceeded 7,600. Up to 50,000 soldiers are planned. The headquarters of the Territorial Defense Forces Command is located in Warsaw at ul. Dymińska 13 in the Warsaw Citadel.
Another division was created, the fourth large formation. This is the 18th Mechanized Division with its headquarters in Siedlce. Let us remember that the previous ruling coalition (PO, PSL) in 2011 liquidated the 1st Warsaw Mechanized Division. Tadeusz Kościuszko.
On October 4, 2018, the Sejm adopted a reform of the command and command system of the Polish Armed Forces. The act eliminated the current, dysfunctional command system of the Polish Army. In the new system, the commander-in-chief of the Polish Army became the chief of the General Staff of the Polish Army. The Chief of the General Staff is responsible for the general commander and operational commander of the armed forces, as well as the head of the Support Inspectorate and the Commander of the Territorial Defense Forces. However, according to specialists, this is just the beginning. The reform should be comprehensive. The positive thing is that at the highest level there is one commander responsible for defense. Until now, there were two equal commanders - the General Commander of the Kinds of the Armed Forces and the Operational Commander of the Armed Forces. And the chief of the General Staff was basically an adviser to the minister of national defense, but it is not clear from what?
Finally, representatives of the authorities of the Republic of Poland have a lot to undertake diplomatic, economic and courtesy trips. Two Gulfstream G550s were purchased. The Gulfstream G550 is truly an aircraft of the highest quality, technical and technology, with a gigantic range of 12,501 km. The plane takes up to 19 passengers on board. Gulfstream from the USA from Savannah for Poland chose No. 5547, which made its first flight on October 5, 2016, and No. 5554, which made its first flight on December 21, 2016. Polish planes were given proper names: Nb 0001 "Prince Józef Poniatowski", Nb 0002 "General Kazimierz Pułaski". On June 21, 2017, the Gulfstream G550 Nb 0001 "Prince Józef Poniatowski" plane landed at Okęcie Airport. On July 29, 2017, the second Gulfstream G550 Nb 0002 "General Kazimierz Pułaski" aircraft landed at Bydgoszcz Airport, where Wojskowe Zakłady Lotnicze No. 2 are located.
The next three planes for VIP transport are medium-sized planes. For various reasons, the Polish side chose Boeing B.737-800 BBJ2 planes. The contract with the Boeing Company was signed on March 31, 2017. In May 2017, the competition for the proper names of the aircraft was adjudicated. The jury chose; "Marszałek Józef Piłsudski", "Roman Dmowski", "Ignacy Jan Paderewski". In October 2017, the Boeing concern proposed to replace the first used B.737-800 aircraft with a brand new one. Interestingly, this did not entail an increase in price. Contract Renegotiated at the beginning of November 2017. The proposed aircraft, the new Boeing B.737-86X, registration N893BA, was flown on April 13, 2017 in a 189-passenger configuration. It was intended for Chinese 9 Air low-cost airlines, but until October 2017 The plane was rebuilt in accordance with the contract The plane landed at Okęcie Airport on November 15, 2017. At the moment, the remaining two planes are due to arrive in Poland on September 15, 2020 and November 15, 2020 and will be in the final version Boeing B.737-800 BBJ2.
The importance of military aviation on the modern battlefield cannot be overestimated. We are sure that the Polish Air Force is able to bravely face any invader. True, with an unknown result. But as in the 1939 Defense War, there was a chance for significant success. However, let us remember that it is not possible to win a war solely by aviation. What matters is the land, air, sea, special forces and TDF capabilities.
And finally. Credit Suisse's Swiss bankers ranked national armies based on six criteria.
Germany ranks 18th on Credit Suisse's list, spending $ 40.2 billion on its armed forces. annually. The Bundeswehr, or SS, vermacht, kriegsmarine, etc., has 179,000 military personnel, 408 tanks, 663 planes and 4 submarines. Germany does not have an aircraft carrier and has relatively few tanks. Instead, they have a large number of combat helicopters.
In the Credit Suisse ranking, Poland was ranked 17th, ahead of the German army. Our army's budget is $ 9.4 billion. The Polish Armed Forces have over 120,000 soldiers and military personnel, 1,009 tanks, 467 aircraft and 5 submarines. Our country is ahead of Germany in the ranking because of the greater number of tanks and the greater military expenditure in connection with the annexation of Crimea by the Moscow state, led by Comrade Putin.
According to another world ranking, based on data collected by the CIA, the Polish Army, with 1065 tanks in 2018, was in 22nd place in the world. For comparison; the German army had 408 tanks, the UK - 407, France - 423, but already mosques - 15,398 such machines.
But remember that the categories used in determining the ranking lists are deceptive. They are based on hard statistical data. But they do not show the quality of this equipment and, perhaps more importantly, they do not show the morale of the soldiers who use it.
Written by Karol Placha Hetman