From Mi-24 to Apache. Year 2024 at WZL1

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The most important aspect of WZL1’s operations remains heavy maintenance, modernization, and servicing of helicopters, aircraft engines, and training, civilian, and military aircraft. “Today, the key platforms are of Soviet origin: the Mi 8, Mi 17, and Mi 24. This is still a lucrative business. However, we cannot rely on them for further company development, as in the long term the operation of these helicopters both in Poland and abroad will gradually be phased out,” says the company’s president, Jacek A. Goszczyński.

Today, not only are the WZL1’s services in demand in the domestic market but also internationally. The imposition of international sanctions on Russia has led its former customers to seek alternative companies capable of performing the necessary maintenance work. However, the future lies in work related to modern military equipment.

WZL1 is dynamically expanding its service offerings for next generation aircraft and helicopters that are being introduced into the Polish Armed Forces. We are already expanding the Service Center for AW101 helicopters, which have been inducted into the Navy, as well as for M 346 Bielik aircraft, used by the Air Force. The year 2024 was special for us. We signed contracts that will allow us to support two key modernization programs of the Polish Armed Forces – the Apache helicopters and Abrams tanks – and we are also increasing our involvement in the Wisła air defence program. These are all new opportunities for our company, says Jacek A. Goszczyński.

It is worth taking a closer look at the individual projects undertaken by WZL1 in 2024.

Wisła Programme

2024 brought significant progress in WZL1’s participation in the medium range air defence system program, Wisła. In June 2024, production began at the Dęblin facilities of transport launch containers for PAC 3 MSE missiles used in Patriot systems. This undertaking is part of an offset agreement associated with the first phase of the Wisła program, concerning medium range air and missile defence. In September, during the MSPO trade fair, another offset agreement was signed with Lockheed Martin regarding the second phase of the Wisła programme. Under this agreement, the Polish facilities will expand their container production capacity on a larger scale.

A Revolution in Helicopters and Engines

In August 2024, Poland signed a contract to purchase 96 AH 64E Apache attack helicopters. Simultaneously, a series of offset agreements were concluded related to the maintenance of these, involving the Polish defense industry. WZL1 will be a beneficiary of an agreement with Boeing, the main manufacturer of the Apache. “The offset agreement we signed last year will provide us with employment for decades. We are transitioning from supporting Soviet era helicopters to the most modern attack gunships that will be used by the Polish Armed Forces. This is a huge challenge because we need to retrain our employees, but it is also a great opportunity,” says WZL1 president Jacek A. Goszczyński.

The offset related to the Apache programme covers not only the airframes. Along with the 96 AH 64E helicopters, 210 T700 engines were also purchased (including 18 spares). The offset agreement with their manufacturer, GE Aerospace, includes future inspections, maintenance, overhauls, and repairs (MRO) at the Dęblin facility of WZL1

However, this is not everything. Thanks to cooperation with GE Aerospace, WZL1 will also handle the servicing of T700 engines powering the Polish S 70i Black Hawk helicopters, as well as the similarly designed CT7 engines used in the AW149 helicopters (32 units ordered) and AW101 (4 units). For the Polish Armed Forces, this means an additional 84 engines, not counting spares.

The efficient acquisition of skills in servicing the new engines by WZL1 employees will be supported by cooperation with the Military University of Technology (WAT). It is there that WZL1 technicians, as well as technical personnel from the Army Aviation units, will receive their training.

WZL1, after acquiring the necessary capabilities and signing contracts, may also secure orders from other clients for work related to GE engines. The T700 and CT7 engines are widely used in Europe (over 1,300 engines among 20 clients) and worldwide (more than 25,000 engines sold in total, with another 950 in an order from June 2024). The market is therefore very promising. In the future, it may also be possible to undertake work on engines for combat aircraft, such as the F404 (used in the FA 50), F110, and F404.

WZL1 and Abrams MBTs

Thanks to an agreement signed with Honeywell during the MSPO 2024 trade fair, a service center for turbine engines used in M1A1 and M1A2 Abrams tanks will soon be launched. Entering the “armored” technologies will be relatively straightforward, as the M1 tank’s engine is derived from helicopter engines, which provides WZL1 with a solid foundation for such work.

Experience and Further Developmen

The WZL1 team currently consists of approximately 630 employees, who possess valuable expertise in servicing Soviet designed helicopters. The company is also developing its capabilities in servicing modern AW101 helicopters and the advanced training aircraft M 346 Bielik. All of these new initiatives and the required certifications present significant challenges. For this reason, the company places great emphasis on the education and development of its employees’ skills.

In 2025, a new salary structure is set to be introduced, based on technical English proficiency, certifications, and skills. Attractive salaries are intended to attract and retain the best specialists. The company is also undertaking long term initiatives to cooperate with high schools and universities in order to train future employees.

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