AFM completes its review of the three Polish air arms with an analysis of the air force in its centenary year, as Bartek Bera and Filip Modrzejewski examine the most significant force to wear the famous red and white chequerboard.
The Siły Powietrzne (SP, Polish Air Force) was established in November 1918 – just before Poland regained independence. Today, the traditional division between army aviation, naval aviation and air force has blurred somewhat; the structure and hierarchy of the SP is not always easy for outsiders to understand.
Previously, the Siły Zbrojne Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej (Polish Armed Forces) included individual commands – naval aviation fell under Navy Command, Army Command was responsible for most of the helicopters, and the remainder came under Air Force Command.
Following 2014’s reorganisation and headquarters reforms, the division of tasks was retained within a slightly different military unit structure, in which all are subject to the General Commander, who directs the air arms through the Air Force Inspector. In the latter role, Gen Jacek Pszczoła – one of the first Polish F-16 pilots – was recently replaced by Gen Mirosław Jemielniak.
The government in Warsaw faced heavy cri…
