On Friday, July 17, 2026, the 33rd Air Transport Base in Powidz announced that it had signed contracts for theoretical and practical training courses for aircrew and ground personnel in connection with plans to introduce Lockheed Martin/Sikorsky S-70i Black Hawk International multirole helicopters into service with the Special Operations Air Unit (PJOS).
Photos: Jakub Link-Lenczowski, MILMAG
The contracts were awarded through a negotiated procedure without prior publication of a contract notice, as three previous procurement procedures had been canceled. Negotiations with PZL Mielec, a company owned by U.S.-based Lockheed Martin, began on May 19 this year, slightly more than two weeks after the latest tender was canceled. The contracts were signed on July 3 and are to be completed by December 11, 2026.
The negotiations were divided into three lots:
- S-70i WS pilot training for pilots with no previous qualifications on the S-70i WS, intended to provide the ratings and authorizations required to begin flight training on the helicopter. The contract is worth 5,733,110 PLN gross.
- Training for crew chiefs, ground personnel, flight data monitoring personnel, and survival equipment personnel covering:
- theoretical and practical training for avionics ground personnel in maintaining the S-70i WS helicopter, providing the knowledge required to correctly diagnose and rectify faults and repair onboard aircraft systems;
- theoretical and practical training for airframe and powerplant ground personnel in maintaining the S-70i WS, providing the knowledge required to diagnose and rectify faults and repair onboard systems;
- theoretical and practical training for crew chiefs, enabling them to perform day and night flights, including operations using night-vision goggles, aboard the S-70i WS;
- theoretical and practical training for ground personnel in operating the helicopter’s integrated diagnostic system, including the onboard monitoring system and IVHMS ground stations;
- training for maintenance personnel in survival and life-support equipment, covering inspection, adjustment, fitting, and repair procedures necessary to ensure crew safety;
- theoretical and practical quality-assurance and aircraft inspector training for ground personnel, providing the knowledge required to work correctly with technical documentation, track maintenance records, use maintenance-monitoring tools, and apply test procedures;
- theoretical and practical aircraft maintenance management training for ground personnel, expanding the knowledge and skills of personnel supervising helicopter operations in the use of management programs and tools for monitoring, recording, and tracking S-70i WS maintenance activities, as well as methods for improving the organization, scheduling, and planning of maintenance and servicing;
- theoretical and practical training in repairing S-70i WS main and tail rotor blades, including inspection, repair procedures, and testing methods;
- theoretical and practical training in adjusting the S-70i WS flight-control system, including flight-control rigging, diagnostic procedures, powerplant adjustment procedures, and complete flight-control setup and inspection procedures. The contract is worth PLN 13,691,393 gross.
- Theoretical and practical training for ground personnel in intermediate-level maintenance of the T700-GE-701D engine. The contract is worth 533,926 PLN gross.
The combined gross value of the contracts awarded to PZL Mielec is 19,958,429 PLN.
The Special Operations Air Unit, formed on February 1, 2023, to replace the 7th Special Operations Squadron, currently operates eight Mi-17 helicopters within its Aviation Group. These comprise four Mi-17TU helicopters, with serial numbers 601, 602, 603, and 605, and four Mi-17-1W helicopters, with serial numbers 6109, 6110, 6111, and 6112.
All eight S-70i Black Hawk International helicopters currently in Polish service are operated by the Aviation Team of the GROM Military Unit. On February 12 this year, Parasnake Arkadiusz Szewczyk was awarded a gross 6,624,700 PLN contract to provide simulator training for their crews.