PZL W-3 Sokół


The PZL W-3 Sokół is a medium-size, twin-engine, multipurpose helicopter developed and manufactured by Polish helicopter company PZL-Świdnik, now owned by Leonardo. It was the first helicopter entirely designed and produced in Poland.

Design

The PZL W-3 is powered by a pair of Pratt & Whitney turboshaft engines built under license by the Rzeszów facility. The original variant, the PZL-10W, and its successor, the PZL-10S, were both Polish-built modifications of the Russian Glushenkov TVD-10B turboprop design that had powered the earlier Antonov An-28. Composite materials are incorporated into the three-bladed tail rotor and four-bladed main rotor rotors assemblies. The rotors have an ice protection system and the helicopter is able to operate in environments between -40 and +43°C.
The Sokół has been offered in a number of diverse variants, including VIP, and is capable of performing a typical range of helicopter missions, including passenger transport, cargo, EMS/medevac, firefighting and search and rescue. When used in maritime environments, the rotorcraft is typically outfitted with floats, a transponder, a global positioning system navigation system, night-vision equipment, and a Lucas winch.

Development

Origins

In 1973, work commenced on what would become the W-3 Sokół at PZL Świdnik; design work was performed by an in-house team led by aeronautical engineer Stanisław Kamiński. The design was conceived to address military and civilian aviation requirements within the Soviet Union and Warsaw Pact nations, with the Soviet Air Force and Aeroflot intended as primary operators. On 16 November 1979, the first five prototypes of Sokół conducted their maiden flights.

Early production

of the Sokół commenced in 1985. Production began at a low rate in 1985 with ten aircraft. The first machine, registered SP-PSF, conducted its maiden flight in 1987.
After prolonged efforts, the Soviet Chief Inspectorate of Civil Aviation issued a provisional airworthiness certificate on 26 September 1988, permitting expanded serial production of the aircraft. At the same time, work began on a rescue variant, as well as an armed version.
The second production series consisted of 23 helicopters and 2 fuselage airframes allocated for testing. The first aircraft of this series, designated as the State Radio Inspectorate variant, featured a specialized antenna mast.
On March 17, 1990, the prototype W-3U Salamandra was flown, which was to be armed with Mars-2, B8-10, ZR-8 pods, and the 9M114 guided missile system from the Mil Mi-24W and the GSz-23L fixed cannon. Following testing, the Polish military declined to adopt the aircraft. Consequently, the helicopter was stripped of its armament and reconfigured as a transport variant, which was subsequently exported to Myanmar. Several years later, in cooperation with the South African arms company Denel, work was once again on an armed version. Factory number 310318 was registered as SP-SUW and transported to South Africa, where Kentron integrated its weapons systems and armament, resulting in the W-3K variant. The aircraft was then registered as ZU-AGU and underwent testing until 1994. The same aircraft, which again flew in Poland as SP-SUW, was tested with French HOT-3/VIVIANE missiles in 1999.
The third series consisted of 19 helicopters and 1 fuselage intended for ground tests. Nine of them were purchased by Burma. The machine with the serial number 390411 remained in the factory, constituting the basis for the construction of the W-3RM prototype. Factory number 330414 was assigned to the 103rd Aviation Regiment of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Following the Polish governmental restructuring post-1990, the aircraft was transferred to the Border Guard. In 1993, one of the machines in the W-3T version with the side number 0417 entered the equipment of the Polish Army. It was later reintroduced W-3RL.

1990s, after Cold War

Following the democratization of Poland and the end of the Cold War, PZL-Świdnik opened up to the West, and in 1989, design work began on a new variant. Third series helicopter, with the serial number 310420, became the platform for the construction of the W-3A prototype, which made its maiden flight on July 30, 1992.
Following an intensive test program, type certification for the helicopter was received from aviation authorities in Poland, Russia, the United States, and Germany. During May 1993, certification of the W-3A to standards was granted. The W-3A obtained an American certificate on May 31, 1993, from the Federal Aviation Administration confirming compliance with FAR Part 29 regulations. It was followed by the receipt of German certification in December of that year.
Subsequently, the aircraft was registered as SP-PSK and later SP-SSK, before being transferred to the 103rd Aviation Regiment of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. It is currently in service with the Polish Police Aviation.
The fourth series consisted of 20 helicopters. Some of them went to foreign recipients, the Saxony State Police received one W-3A, the South Korean companies Helikorea and Citi Air purchased W-3A and W-3AM respectively. In June 1996, the 100th Sokół was completed by the company.
In Poland, the army rebuilt one of the received Sokół to W-3RL and transferred it to the Polish Mountain Rescue Service. The Navy received helicopters from this series factory no. 390505 and 390513 as W-3RM. Anaconda serial number 390510 was also given to 103rd PL MSW, where it received the n/b 510. It then became part of the equipment of the GROM Military Unit, where it received the n/b 0510. It crashed during exercises.
Aircraft 370507 initially served with the Life Saving Association. From 1995, it was used seasonally by Tatra Volunteer Search and Rescue while retaining LPR livery. Following damage sustained during an emergency landing near Murzasichle on 29 January 2003, the aircraft was refurbished, re-registered as SP-SXW, and transferred to TOPR's full operational control with updated livery.
The SP-PSL helicopter became the basis for building the W-3A2 prototype, which was purchased by the Spanish company Helibravo. Aircraft SP-FSU was operated by the Polish subsidiary of Daewoo for several years. Following the company's financial difficulties, this aircraft was sold to the police force of the United Arab Emirates. The remaining helicopters went mainly to the Polish army, among them were also the W-3W.

Huzar derivative

During the 1990s, PZL-Świdnik heavily pursued the development of an envisioned Huzar battlefield helicopter, which was to be based on the airframe of the W-3 Sokol and would have eventually involved the manufacture of 100 such attack helicopters under a tentative $350 million contract for the Polish Army. Although PZL-Świdnik initiated the program, development was hampered by repeated delays and financial constraints. The company struggled to secure government funding, which was necessary to proceed with successive development phases. When a contract for the helicopter's avionics and weapon systems was awarded within a government memorandum of understanding to an Israeli consortium, consisting of armaments manufacturer Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and defense electronics company Elbit Systems, making them the intended supplier for both the missiles and avionics for the helicopter.
During 1998, the Polish Council of Ministers issued its recommendation for the launch of a new tender in support of the envisioned Huzar. In response, calls were issued for an avionics and weapons systems integrator, aiming to replace the originally selected Israeli consortium due to alleged irregularities in the previous selection process. American firm Boeing, which led its own bid involving in excess of 20 separate companies, represented Elbit's chief competitor for the integration contract; at one point, it appeared that political changes to the competition had made Boeing the favourite to win the contract. While Rafael's NT-D anti-tank missile was selected, this was subject to the successful completion of several test launches; if it failed, rival bids from Boeing for the AGM-114 Hellfire, British firm GEC-Marconi with the Brimstone and the Franko-German company Euromissile's HOT 3 missile. The Israeli Government resisted breaking up its consortium for a separate avionics integration contract, stating it would refuse to release the NT-D missile unless it was also awarded the avionics bid, but reportedly softened on this stance.
However, during mid-1999, the Polish government's plans for the Huzar helicopter were entirely abandoned, effectively ending development of the derivative immediately. In its place, a smaller fleet of W-3 Sokol, modified for the support role, was to be adopted in the short term instead. Invitations for bids for the upgrading of 50 rotorcraft, including the adoption of new rotor blades, more powerful engines, extra fuel tanks, and additional armaments, were issued thereafter. At the time, Polish Prime Minister Jerzy Buzek stated that, for the long term requirement, a new tender for attack helicopter was to be issued by the end of June that year, and "we expect a decision in October or November"; the envisioned competition was to be contested by the Italian Agusta A129 Mangusta, the American Bell AH-1W/Z Super Cobra and Boeing AH-64 Apache, the European Eurocopter Tiger and South African Denel Rooivalk attack helicopters. Poland ultimately chose to pursue a relatively modest stopgap plan to upgrade its existing Mil Mi-24 fleet with Israeli-built equipment.

Further development

During the early 2000s, PLZ Swidnik issued an offer for the upgrade of 12 Sokols previously operated by the Polish Air Force in the training role, converting them to perform the search and rescue mission instead; amongst the changes involved was the installation of Rockwell Collins-built ARC-210 transceivers and the adoption of new night-vision goggles -compatible cockpits. In 2006, this offer was met with a corresponding contract, which would ultimately led to the production of an improved model of the rotorcraft, designated as the W-3PL Gluszec; in addition to the above improvements, a new flight control system and upgraded powerplants featuring full authority digital engine control software, were adopted, along with various changes to the communication, navigation and self-protection systems. The variant, which had been developed partially based upon combat experience gained in Iraq, attracted the attention of the Polish land forces, leading to discussions on modernising additional W-3 helicopters to the Gluszec standard. By January 2012, a follow-up order for another four Sokols re-built to the W-3PL configuration had been issued.
During the mid-2000s, it was reported that, as part of a wider proposed industrial partnership between PLZ Swidnik and Indonesian aircraft company Indonesian Aerospace, discussions on the potential outsourcing of manufacturing work on the Sokol helicopter, focused on the airframe and some of the subassemblies, were held; it was also stated that a wider licensing agreement in respect to the Sokol had already been ruled out as IAe were not prepared to accept responsibility for marketing and sales for the helicopter.
Following Anglo-Italian helicopter manufacturer AgustaWestland's acquisition of PZL Swidnik, the W-3 Sokol was incorporated into the new parent company's product line and has continued to be marketed and sold.

Operational history

The first civilian export customer for the W-3A variant of the type was Germany's Federal Police in Saxony.
During 1995, South Korean operator Citiair issued a firm order for the purchase of three transport-oriented W-3A Sokół helicopters. Citiair chose fit various additional equipment on the type, including floats, as two of them were to routinely travel to the island of Ulleungdo, roughly 180 km from the Korean mainland, while the third was to be operated in the nation's more mountainous regions. During the same year, Polish oil company Petrobaltic ordered a single W-3RM Anaconda maritime helicopter, while primarily designed for search and rescue duties, it was used by the company for transporting personnel, supplies and equipment to its Baltic oil drilling platforms.
The Polish military has been a key customer for the Sokol. During the mid-1990s, a 15-year modernisation plan called for the procurement of 90 transport-oriented Sokols, along with 100 Huzar battlefield helicopters. During early 1996, Poland exchanged a batch of 11 W-3 Sokółs with the neighbouring Czech Republic in exchange for 10 Mikoyan MiG-29. W-3RM Anaconda maritime helicopters were adopted by the Polish naval service, who used the type to perform the SAR role.
From 2003 onwards, four W-3WA helicopters of the Polish Independent Air Attack Group operated in Iraq, 2003–present|Iraq] in support of coalition operations. In total, eight Polish helicopters were deployed to the region until 2008. In summer 2004, Polish W-3 helicopters participated in coalition information operations, distributing leaflets intended to counter support for Iraqi Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. On 15 December 2004, a W-3WA operating with the Polish contingent in Iraq crashed near Karbala, killing three crew members and wounding three others On 18 July 2006, another helicopter crashed at an air base in Al Diwaniyah, injuring 4 crew and 3 passengers.
Since January 2012, a force of five W-3 Sokol helicopters, along with six Mil Mi-8, have been furnished with a VIP configuration for use by the Polish government. They are stationed at Poland's 1st Air Transport Base in Warsaw.

Variants

Civil versions

Civil production versions.
;W-3 Sokół
;W-3A Sokół
;W-3AS Sokół
;W-3A2 Sokół
;W-3AM Sokół
;W-3 Erka

Military versions

Military production versions.
;W-3 / W-3T / W-3P Sokół
;W-3A Sokół
;W-3P/S/A VIP Sokół
;W-3W/WA Sokół
;W-3AE Sokół
;W-3R Sokół
;W-3RL Sokół
;W-3RM Anakonda
;W-3WARM Anakonda
;W-3PSOT / W-3PPD Gipsówka
;W-3RR Procjon
;W-3PL ''Głuszec''

Prototypes and proposals

Prototypes and proposals that were not adopted by armed forces.
;W-3B Jastrząb
;W-3K/W-3WB Huzar
;W-3L Sokół Long
;W-3MS/W-3WS Sokół
;W-3U Salamandra
;W-3U-1 Aligator
;W-3PL/N

Operators

Former operators

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