The Polish Air Force has welcomed back two crews for two Saab 340 AEW airborne radar systems, trained and ready to start partaking in missions. The pilots received their certificates on August 6th during a ceremony at the Gdynia Babie Doły Airfield of the 43rd Naval Aviation Base in the Pomeranian Voivodeship on the Baltic Sea coast.
This does not mean that the Polish Air Force has yet received the aircraft itself. As noted by Paweł Bejda, Secretary of State at the Polish Ministry of National Defense, Saab 340 AEW will achieve initial operational capability in September 2024.
Read more: Numbers Make Difference: Sweden Gives Ukraine Two Saab 340 AEW&Cs, Not One
Pierwsze załogi samolotów Saab 340 AEW zakończyły szkolenie. W zakresie zdolności rozpoznawczych wchodzimy na poziom, do którego wcześniej nie mieliśmy dostępu. Dwa zakupione w samoloty wczesnego ostrzegania i alarmowania we wrześniu osiągną wstępną zdolność operacyjną. pic.twitter.com/Xm77PxGMOL — Paweł Bejda (@pawelbejda) August 6, 2024
The arrival of Polish pilots gives a grasp of the estimated amount of time they needed to complete training to master this aircraft. The timelines are especially important for Ukraine which is also waiting for two Saab 340 AEW systems (otherwise known as ASC 890), donated by Sweden.
For starters, let's recall that Poland bought these two used Saab 340 AEW also from Sweden. Interestingly, the first owner was the United Arab Emirates where they were operated from 2011 to 2020, until replaced with newer GlobalEye and sent back to their homeland. On July 25, 2023, Poland bought them out for a total of $58 million.
To learn the basics of operating this airborne radar, 8 pilots, 11 technicians and 9 system operators were selected. The official announcement of the Polish Army says the training process began after receiving the first aircraft "in the first half of 2024."
Defense Express specifies that the first Saab 340 AEW landed in Poland on March 6, and the second arrived on June 10, 2024. Most likely, the transfer of the first aircraft to Poland took place after its official handover, because the official notice says the practical part of the training began in March, and it followed a theory course commenced earlier in Sweden.
All in all, the full study program took about 7 to 8 months, of which the theoretical part took 2 to 3 months, and practice lasted up to 5 months.
Na wyposażeniu #WojskoPolskie znajdują się dwa samoloty wczesnego wykrywania i ostrzegania Saab 340 AEW. Załogi z Brygady Lotnictwa Marynarki Wojennej intensywnie szkolą się, aby uzyskać zdolność operacyjną i rozpocząć dyżury bojowe. To ważny krok w zwiększaniu naszego… pic.twitter.com/rXdZK4DzmF— Sztab Generalny WP (@SztabGenWP) July 8, 2024
Now, speaking of Ukraine and the AEW systems it's anticipating, it's worth recalling that Sweden announced the transfer of the Saab 340s on May 29, 2024. That is, almost two and a half months ago. On the other hand, seeing how long it took to train Ukrainian pilots to operate F-16 multirole fighters and transfer the first batch of this aircraft to the Air Force of Ukraine, there's little possibility that the training course may be any shorter.
That said, if the pilots end up taking as much time as their Polish colleagues, they might return ready for operations sometime in the final weeks of 2024.
Read more: Sweden Will Get Saab GlobalEye to Replace ASC 890s Handed to Ukraine: Capabilities of the Chosen AEW&CS
