The first crews for the Saab 340B AEW-300 early warning aircraft have been trained

On Tuesday, August 6, 2024, at the 43rd Oksywie Naval Aviation Base named after Lt. Cmdr. Edward Stanisław Szystowski in Gdynia-Babie Doły, Paweł Bejda, the Secretary of State in the Ministry of National Defense, summarized the training of the first group of crews for the Saab 340B AEW-300 early warning and control aircraft being introduced into the Polish Armed Forces. He also participated in bilateral talks with a delegation from the Ministry of Defense of the Kingdom of Sweden.

Crews of the Saab 340 AEW aircraft next to the plane with the number 3401 / Photos: Przemysław Gurgurewicz, MILMAG

The training completion certificates were ceremoniously presented to the crews by Secretary of State Paweł Bejda along with the Commander of the Naval Aviation Brigade, Andrzej Szczotka. The ceremony was also attended by Peter Sandwall, Secretary of State in the Swedish Ministry of Defense, Micael Johansson, CEO of Saab AB, and Brig. Gen. Adam Kuptel, Head of the Armament Agency.

In his ceremonial speech, Paweł Bejda said, among other things:

“The Polish Armed Forces are reaching a level of reconnaissance capabilities that they previously did not have direct access to. In the first half of this year, […] two Saab 340 AEW early warning aircraft arrived. These are the first machines of this type in our army. They will provide the Polish Armed Forces with new capabilities in detection and identification parameters, and consequently, the ability to neutralize airborne threats with other assets in the inventory of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland. We have just completed the months-long training phase for the first crews, who familiarized themselves with this type of aircraft, learned how to operate it, and efficiently use the onboard instruments so that they can correctly and reliably carry out their assigned tasks in the future. The training—of the first crews, I emphasize—has been fully successful, as evidenced by the certificates awarded today.”

The same crews after the certificates were handed out by the Secretary of State in the Ministry of National Defense, Paweł Bejda…

In his speech, he also mentioned the imminent start of operational activities by our Saab 340 AEW aircraft, stating: “Very soon, in September of this year, the newly trained pilots, with the Saab aircraft having achieved full operational capability, will begin carrying out patrol and high-altitude air surveillance tasks. This will lower the radar detection zone from ground level, allowing for the detection of enemy missiles flying at very low altitudes. This will enable our Air Force to respond quickly and effectively.”

Saab AB’s CEO, Micael Johansson, emphasized that achieving operational readiness for both aircraft within a year of signing the contract was possible due to the excellent cooperation between Saab and the Polish Armed Forces. He also noted, “An airborne early warning system, as an absolutely vital capability, is key to enhancing situational awareness and the ability to respond quickly to potential threats in the air or at sea. The Saab 340 AEW systems have already proven their effectiveness and will significantly boost Poland’s defense capabilities. […] Poland will gain independence in its own airborne early warning systems and join the ranks of Western nations that already possess such capabilities. With these two aircraft, Poland will receive an extremely effective airborne early warning solution, which includes the state-of-the-art Erieye radar and Saab’s ground system. Saab also has a support team here in Gdynia that assists Poland in efficiently implementing and maintaining this system. […] We are also committed to ensuring that the airborne early warning system serves for a long time, with the possibility of upgrades or replacements if Poland expresses such a need.”

Saab 340 AEW no. 3401 from the left side

Information about the training of Saab 340B AEW-300 aircraft crews was announced on July 8 of this year.

On June 10 of this year, the second of these aircraft arrived at the 43rd Naval Aviation Base in Gdynia from Sweden. The first aircraft was received on March 6. These aircraft have been assigned to the Naval Aviation Brigade, specifically to the 44th Naval Aviation Base in Siemirowice, which is the only Polish unit that had previously operated radar reconnaissance aircraft, including 7 PZL M28B1R Bryza and 1 PZL M28B1RM Bryza Bis. Despite this, both Saab 340 AEW aircraft have been stationed and operating from the 43rd Naval Aviation Base in Gdynia-Babie Doły since their arrival.

The contract for the purchase of two used aircraft was signed on July 25, 2023. The plans to acquire air platforms of this class from Sweden were announced by the then Minister of Defense, Mariusz Błaszczak, on May 22, 2023. Three days later, the then spokesperson for the Armament Agency, Lt. Col. Krzysztof Płatek, clarified the specific type of aircraft being negotiated with the Swedish side.

Saab 340AEW no. 3402

As announced at the time in a separate press release by the Swedish company Saab Defence and Security, which is a party to the contract, the contract’s value is approximately 600 million SEK (232 million PLN, ca. 59 million USD), and deliveries will be completed between 2023 and 2025. The contract also includes ground equipment, a logistics package, and support services to be provided domestically. The official presentation of the first aircraft at Saab’s facilities in Linköping took place on September 29, 2023.

Poland ordered S 100D Argus turboprop aircraft in the FSR-890 version (manufacturer designation: Saab 340B AEW-300), which were returned by the United Arab Emirates in favor of five of the latest Saab GlobalEye aircraft (four of which have been delivered so far). These were also ordered by Stockholm on June 30, 2022 (recently, the order was increased from two to four, with the third one ordered on June 27 of this year; military designation: S 106 GlobalEye). Additionally, in the information released in May of last year, the possibility of purchasing platforms such as GlobalEye in the future was not ruled out.

Saab 340AEW no. 3402

The aircraft received by Poland, designated with tactical numbers 3401 and 3402, began their service in the Swedish Air Force in May 1997 and April 1998, respectively. After more than a decade of operation in Sweden, they returned to Saab in May and June 2010 to be prepared for transfer to the United Arab Emirates Air Force. Following the necessary modifications, the aircraft were delivered to their new user in August 2010 and March 2011. They served in the Middle East for the next decade. After being replaced by GlobalEye aircraft, they returned to their original manufacturer in June 2021, and two years later, they found a new owner in the Polish military.

The Saab 340B AEW-300 aircraft are equipped with the PS-890 Erieye radar, an omnidirectional pulse-Doppler radar operating in the S-band, featuring an Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) antenna with an instrumental range of 450 km at an altitude of over 20,000 meters. The azimuth coverage of the scanned area is 150 degrees on each side of the antenna.

Saab 340AEW no. 3402

The aircraft is 20.57 meters long, has a wingspan of 21.44 meters, a height of 6.97 meters, an empty weight of 10.3 tons, and a maximum takeoff weight of 13.155 tons. It is powered by two General Electric CT7-9B turboprop engines, each producing 1,390 kW (1,870 hp), providing a service ceiling of 7,620 meters and a flight endurance of over 5 hours.

Complementing the received aircraft as part of the radar reconnaissance system for airspace will be the American system of radar reconnaissance aerostats, acquired under the program codenamed Barbara. The system will be integrated into the aerostat radar battalion, which will have four stations in eastern Poland. The contract for this was signed on May 22 of this year.

Commemorative photo of the participants at the certificate award ceremony

On July 1 of this year, Poland and the United States signed a direct loan agreement under the Foreign Military Financing (FMF) program for an amount of 2 billion USD, of which 960 million USD is to be allocated for financing the purchase of aerostats.

The entry into service of the Saab 340 AEW aircraft equipped with Erieye radar marks a new era for the Polish Air Force. For the first time in history, it will have early warning aircraft capable of effectively detecting and tracking low-flying aerial targets at long distances. Of course, two such aircraft are an absolute minimum and insufficient to provide sustained continuous radar surveillance, hence the Barbara program.

In addition to the two Polish Saab 340 AEW aircraft, another new acquisition for the Naval Aviation Brigade was also present at the ceremony—the AgustaWestland AW101, numbered 6204, stationed in Darłowo.

This does not change the fact that the purchase of the used Saab 340 AEW aircraft is only the first step toward building Poland’s own capabilities for detecting airborne targets using early warning aircraft. This is partly because both aircraft have already been in service for 26-27 years, making them inherently a temporary solution (although it is well known that in Poland, temporary solutions often have a surprisingly long lifespan…). Their operation should provide valuable experience, allowing for the formulation of requirements for future aircraft of this class. Whether these will be, as Saab suggests, further variants of the Erieye system on newer aircraft, or completely different designs, is ultimately a secondary issue. The key factor will be consistently maintaining and developing the acquired capabilities, which are crucial in the context of our air defense. The goal is to ensure that the purchased Saab 340 AEW aircraft do not remain the only aircraft of this class in the Polish Air Force for decades to come.

Pierwsze załogi samolotów Saab 340 AEW zakończyły szkolenie. W zakresie zdolności rozpoznawczych wchodzimy na poziom, do którego wcześniej nie mieliśmy dostępu. Dwa zakupione w 🇸🇪 samoloty wczesnego ostrzegania i alarmowania we wrześniu osiągną wstępną zdolność operacyjną. pic.twitter.com/Xm77PxGMOL

— Paweł Bejda (@pawelbejda) August 6, 2024