Modernizing Mi-24 helicopters to be in Poland pending Russian approval

Directors of the modernization program from the Vysehrad countries have until next Wednesday to finalize modernization plans for the Mi-24 "Hind" helicopter. The machines will be the main attack helicopter of these states for the next decade. Poland will have 40 "Hind" as a part of its Air Cavalry Brigade. The plan is to modernize all the units in the WZL Lodz factory in order to minimize modernization costs. The program will be the biggest such modernization plan in Central Europe, covering 102 helicopters, will last six years and cost almost $500 million. International arms companies are competing with each other for the contract. In order to start the program, the governments have to receive permission from the Russian producer. "It is essential we receive detailed Mi-24 construction plans so that we can install NATO equipment," said Deputy Defense Minister Janusz Zemke. However, the Russians are not happy about this and are demanding detailed information about the NATO equipment that is to be installed, while insisting that modernization, apart from the Polish-owned choppers, be carried out in Russia. (Gazeta Wyborcza, p. 17) M.M.