Potential Polish orders heightens foreign interest in MSPO'99

Published: 8/26/1999

The International Defence Industry Fair 99, or MSPO'99, will take place at the Kielce Exhibition Centre from September 2nd to September 5th 1999. It appears to be a much larger show than last year, owing to the various outstanding bids from the Polish Armed Forces that are currently being evaluated. One new participant is Czech producer, Aero Vodochody, which is intensively marketing its L-59/139 and L-159 trainer/light attack aircraft. Sikorsky is expected to attend, although this is not yet confirmed, bringing its Sea Hawk as part of its efforts to sell the helicopter to the Polish Navy as a ground/ship based ASW/SAR platform (www.concise.org 8/11/99). Eurocopter also has a strong presence, having booked space for three aircraft. One of these seems likely to be the Tiger, so reinforcing its perceived strong position locally in the bid for the ground attack order from Polish Army Aviation. Other companies such as British Aerospace, Euromissile, Lockheed Martin, SAAB, Ericsson, DASA and Dassault are exhibiting. Ericsson has already had some success selling radar to Polish Navy for installation on An-28/M-28 Bryzas currently in service. Apart from its obvious efforts to sell the F-16, Lockheed Martin is also marketing communication and ATC systems, some of which have already been selected by the Polish authorities. The delays in purchases of new transport aircraft may also lead to the purchase of second hand ones, and used C-130s are seen as an attractive option.

Article ID: 792