Poland to replace Sukhois with unmanned aircraft

Warsaw: Poland is planning to replace its obsolete Soviet-built Sukhoi Su-22 bomber aircraft with an unmanned strike aircraft (UCAV) system, a minister said.
Deputy Defence Minister Waldemar Skrzypczak said: “We are looking at possibly swapping some of our Su-22 fleet for long-range pilotless systems with high strike capability.”

Poland plans to buy around 30 UCAVs by 2018 to form three squadrons. Skrzypczak did not say who would supply them.

The Su-22, the export variant of the Soviet Union’s Su-17M2, was first produced in 1976 and entered Polish service in the late 1970s.

Poland is also considering buying a multirole transport aircraft, he said, possibly from Israel, which has experience of converting civil airliners for military use.