Posted on 11/08/2006 11:54:59 AM PST by lizol
Poland asks US manufacturer to explain problems with new F-16s 2 hours
WARSAW (AFP) - Poland has asked Lockheed Martin of the United States to give details of the technical problems that forced brand new F-16 fighter jets to turn around when they were en route for delivery in Poland, a defense official said.
"We want information on the nature of the problems that occurred when the airplanes were en route to Poland," said Piotr Lukaszewicz, the Polish defence ministry official handling the procurement contract for a total of 48 F-16s.
On Monday, the first four F-16s ordered by Poland had to turn around when they were over the Atlantic, after technical problems were detected in one of the aircraft.
On the second attempt to fly the high-technology fighter jets to Poland, a fresh set of problems forced two of the planes to land at a base in Iceland. The others flew on to Germany.
Two F-16s eventually arrived at Poland's Krzesiny air base, near the western city of Poznan, on Wednesday afternoon. The other two jets were scheduled to arrive on Thursday.
"We are in the dark as to the nature of the problems and we do not want to speculate before we have had an answer from the Americans," Lukaszewicz said.
Reports in the Polish press have hypothesized that the problems were linked to in-flight refuelling or the fighter jets' positioning mechanism.
At the end of 2002, Lockheed Martin won the 3.5 billion dollar (2.9 billion euro) contract to help Poland bring its ageing air force fleet of Soviet-era Mig-21s and Mig-29s up to the standards of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation ( NATO), which Poland had joined three years earlier.
British-Swedish company BAE Systems-SAAB and France's Dassault Aviation had also fought hard for the contract, proposing respectively the Jas-39 Gripen and the Mirage 2000-5.
Under the F-16 deal, which was the most costly ever inked by Poland, a total of 16 aircraft are meant to be delivered by the end of this year.
A ceremony on Thursday at the Krzesiny base to trumpet the four F-16s' arrival is scheduled to be attended by Polish President Lech Kaczynski; Defence Minister Radoslaw Sikorski; Polish military chief, General Franciszek Gagor; US Ambassador to Poland Victor Ashe; General William Hobbins, commander of the US Air Forces in Europe, and several other US and Polish officials.
"technical problems..."
i.e. someone forgot to bring the key to the men's room.
Faulty/poor quality outsourced parts?
Maybe the pilot really had to go? ;-)
Poor-quality American union assembly?
I thought I left the front door unlocked.
Could be, is it built at a Union plant?
GM makes planes too?!!
Maybe the on-board computers were trying to connect home to report on their "Genuine Windows Advantage" status.
I'm absolutely delighted that Poland has demonstrated such faith in the American F-16 that they are buying NEARLY FIFTY of them, and I hope that these questions are soon answered to their satisfaction...they deserve no less..
kinda weird, especially considering that only 2 of those birds are 16's and the others are 18's
I'm assuming like most (defense) factories, LM's is union just like everywhere I've been.
They're MiGs...
Good eye!
Maybe a "file photo" or just the 1st 2 getting an escort?
The problem is evident in the first picture you posted. The two on the right had an extra tail fin installed by mistake!
Yeah, it's an escort. The Polish air force has about twenty-five MiG-29 Flankers. The F-16s are joining them in the fighter/attack role, replacing old Su-22 Fitters.
}:-)4
No, those are not F-18s, those are Mig 29s
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