Polish Armed Force Tests Caracal Helicopter

The Polish armed Force announced on Wednesday that it’s verification group tested the EC 725 Caracal helicopter as a part of the multipurpose helicopter project.

The tests were completed on Wednesday (May 27) and armed forces provided positive opinion. The verification stage of the helicopter project completes the evaluation phase of the bids submitted on 30 December 2014 by contractors participating in the proceedings. 

The next step in the procedure will be to negotiate the provisions of the agreement with the selected contractor. Simultaneously, the Ministry of Economy will be informed of the successful completion of the compliance checks, enabling the start of negotiations offset. After agreeing the contract terms, and signing the offset agreements, it will be possible to sign an acquisition contract.

Deliveries of the first helicopter equipped according to the requirements and in the numbers specified by the contracting authority will begin in 2017. 

The purpose of the process was to verify that the technical data provided by the winning consortium for compliance with the real technical parameters as verified during the checks. 

Checks were divided into two phases. The first were performed to verify ground characteristics and the second flight characteristics. 

The 32 most important performance and operational criteria included in the tender requirements were selected for the verification process. 

Verification of the helicopter construction included the interchangeability of fuel and lubricants, particularly those used by NATO; the construction of the landing gear; the number of exits; possession of certifications meeting international aviation standards. 

In terms of helicopter performance were checked, among other things were the ceiling, endurance, speed, hover performance, transport capacity and range and mission radius. 

The final group of parameters verified the ability to fly by day and night, imaging and communication systems, as well as equipment required ensuring the safe operation of the helicopter.