Following Poland’s accession to NATO in 1999, Wojskowe Zakłady Lotnicze Nr 1 S.A. launched a process of upgrading the Mi-family helicopters delivered to us for repairs and overhauls, by equipping them with advanced communication, navigation and identification devices in order to provide compliance with NATO requirements and interoperability within the alliance.
This upgrading process was conducted by the WZL1 in collaboration with Western companies – the manufacturers of devices installed in the helicopters operated by Polish Armed Forces within the upgrades. The aircraft have been equipped with advanced equipment that provided to them interoperability within NATO forces and successful participation in combat missions abroad including those in Iraq, Afghanistan and Chad.
All modernisation projects were developed in-house by experts of the WZL1, and some of the solutions used were submitted to the Polish Patent Office as utility designs.