PGZ wants to rebuild Polish underwater skills under Orka program

The Polish Armed Forces Group wants to participate in the maintenance of a bridge submarine type A17 acquired from Sweden. For Gdynia PGZ entities, this may be the first stage of preparation for the subsequent operation of new A26 ships, provided that they are incorporated into actual service work and gradually gain the necessary competences.

As Michał Stela of Defence24.pl wrote, PGZ talks about the inclusion of companies belonging to a group of companies in the service of a bridge ship. Work to be involved PGZ Stocznia Wojenna, Nauta Shiprepair Yard and Marine Technical Research and Development Centre.

As agreed Polish Navy RP is to receive a leased ship of type first A17, followed by three new submarines A26. The bridge unit is intended to maintain the submarine capacity until the first A26 service enters the under the Orka programme.

At this stage, however, there is no hard, publicly confirmed date of Poland's first new ship. Today, therefore, we need to build in the country the ability to maintain it later. In parallel with crew training, it will be necessary to prepare shipbuilding infrastructure and specialists capable of operating ships throughout their service.

A17 should also serve Polish industry

According to Jan Grabowski, vice president of the Polish Armed Forces Group, the bridge ship should be equipped with the Navy in two years. Its basic service is initially scheduled to take place in Sweden, but the PGZ wants to participate in these works from the beginning to gain the experience needed later in maintaining new ships A26.

We already want to be involved in the maintenance of this ship and begin to learn on a living body, as the service of such individuals looks. This will make it easier for us to get into service later. A26.

Jan Grabowski in Conversation with Defence24.pl

This approach is appropriate because the time needed to gain competence cannot be achieved at the time of receipt of the first A26. Operation of submarines requires preparation for hull work, combat management system (CMS) and integrated platform system (IPMS). It shall also include the maintenance of devices and installations responsible for the safe operation of the ship in immersion. This also requires close cooperation with the producer to be Saab in this case.

If Polish companies start gaining experience already in the service A17, will be able to gradually prepare staff, workshop facilities and procedures needed later to maintain submarines of type A26. In this way, the delivery of a new ship will not be the beginning of building the system of its operation, but the moment of using the skills previously acquired.

You need a real share of the operation A17

For the PGZ, the most important should be the inclusion of Polish entities in the actual service work, not only the participation of their employees in training and learning about activities performed by the Swedish side. The highest value will be to entrust the national establishments with specific tasks and to gradually extend their responsibility for the selected areas of service.

Keeping submarines in the country has meaning beyond the interests of Polish companies. It affects the availability of ships, the duration of repairs and the ability to react quickly in the event of a failure. The wider the scope of service in Poland, the less dependencies of the Navy on the schedule and capabilities of a foreign contractor.

Three Gdynia entities are to prepare the facilities

PGZ intends to base the future service system on three Gdynia entities. PGZ Stocznia Wojenna and Nauta Shiprepair Yard are to provide shipbuilding facilities, while OBR CTM is to provide competence related to electronics and on-board systems.

The plan of the Polish Armed Forces Group is to involve all our companies in Gdynia. We want to be prepared to operate the A26 from the first day these ships enter the equipment of the Polish Navy.

stressed PGZ Vice-President

It's ambitious, but it's the right direction. Preparations of Gdynia plants should not start until the first A26 is already in the country. Then it'll be too late to build your skills calmly, and Polish Navy In the first years of service, the ship would still be dependent on a foreign contractor.

That's why the bridge A17 should serve not only to sustain the submarine capabilities of the Navy, but also to prepare Polish industry for later service A26. If PGZ has a sufficient share in the maintenance of this ship, the Gdynia plant will start gaining experience, train specialists and develop the facilities even before the first new unit is delivered. This is exactly the approach to be expected in Orka program. Use of the time leading up to the entry of the first new A26 into service for the construction of national competences which will remain in Poland throughout the lifetime of these ships.