On Monday, March 11th, the General Headquarters Of Border Guard (KG SG) published information regarding the opening of bids in the open tender procedure, initiated on January 26th of this year, for the purchase of two additional patrol aircraft equipped with an aerial observation system for protecting the state border.
One of two Turbolet L 410 UVP E-20 aircraft – the latest acquisition of the Border Guard / Photo: Border Guard senior warrant officer Paweł Kowaleczko, KG SG
The deadline for submitting bids expired on February 26, 2024. Only one offer was received from the consortium of companies Aero Club from Konstancin-Jeziorna and JB Investments from Warsaw, which was valued at 119,999,784.00 PLN. The budget that the contracting authority intends to allocate for this purchase is 120,000,000 PLN (30364980 USD).
This means that soon the relevant contract should be signed, under which the contractor will be obliged to deliver the aircraft in the basic configuration by December 10, 2024, with the mission equipment to be delivered by December 10, 2025. Interestingly, this is the second attempt to acquire the aircraft, following the cancellation of the first tender in May of last year due to a lack of submitted bids.
The subject of the current order is the delivery of two brand new reconnaissance aircraft produced no earlier than 2022, equipped with airborne observation systems, an Automatic Identification System (AIS) for maritime units, and a satellite communication phone with access to broadband Internet. The aircraft must be certified for operation according to both the Visual Flight Rules (VFR) and Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) during day and night, as well as flights in known icing conditions and with reduced vertical separation minima (RVSM).
The aircraft should be propelled by two turbofan engines with a maximum thrust of 7.5 to 9.5 kN each, equipped with a fully digital, electronic FADEC control system, and running on JET A1 and F 34 fuel. Alternatively, the vehicles may be equipped with one or two turboprop engines (in a tractor propeller arrangement) with a maximum power of 800-1300 SHP, also fitted with a FADEC system, featuring at least a five-blade variable pitch propeller including reverse, also fueled by JET A1 and F 34. Such configuration should provide a flight endurance of at least 6 hours.
The crew should consist of a pilot and a co-pilot, as well as at least three other members, including two onboard systems operators and an additional mission member. The maximum takeoff weight is to be between 3400 and 7000 kg, with a payload of at least 590 kg. The contractor must commit to providing a warranty for a period of 24 months of operation or 1000 flight hours.
The aircraft must be adapted for conducting patrol tasks over maritime areas (within the boundaries of Polish territorial waters and exclusive economic zones), equipped with sets of electronic maps covering the entire territory of the Polish state as well as provinces and administrative areas adjacent to the land border with Poland and belonging to neighboring countries (Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania, and Russia). The map set should also include exclusive economic zones over the Baltic Sea, including coastal waters of the Kaliningrad Oblast and Germany, as well as exclusive economic zones of Portugal (excluding the Azores), Spain, France, Italy, Greece, Cyprus, Malta, and Senegal.
On November 6, 2020, JB Investments Jan Borowski delivered two patrol and reconnaissance aircraft LET Aircraft Industries L 410 UVP E-20, of Czech production, to the Border Guard. They joined the fleet of Border Guard aircraft: four PZL-104MF Wilga 2000 aircraft and four PZL-Kania helicopters (which are awaiting successors), a modernized multipurpose helicopter PZL W-3 AM Anakonda, an Airbus Helicopters H135 helicopter (for patrol), a light Robinson R44 Raven II helicopter (for training), M28 Skytruck and M20 Mewa aircraft, and two ASP S15-1 Stemme aircraft.
On December 29, 2023, the Border Guard informed about signing a contract worth 2,460,000 PLN (app. 620,000 USD) with GB Aircraft for the delivery of a general flight simulator in the FNPT II MCC (Flight Navigation and Procedures Trainer II Multi Crew Cooperation) class for L 410 UVP E-20 aircraft.