GE Aerospace and the Military Aviation Works (Wojskowe Zakłady Lotnicze NR 2 S.A. or WZL-2) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to explore opportunities to develop MRO services capabilities and depot level maintenance for the F404-GE-102 engine that powers the Polish Air Force’s KAI FA-50 Golden Eagle fighter jets. The MoU was announced by Jakub Gazda, CEO, WZL-2, Zbigniew Matuszczak, member of the management board and technical director, WZL-2, and Scott Keating, GE Aerospace’s Defense & Systems executive regional general manager for Europe, at the 34th International Defence Industry Exhibition (MSPO) in Kielce, Poland.
“Establishing engine support within Poland is critically important to ensure readiness and availability for our military customer,” said Keating. “We look forward to working with WZL-2, a well-respected engine MRO provider in Poland, to determine how we can best serve Poland’s needs on the F404 engines to offer this capability in country.”
“Our partnership with GE Aerospace offers us the opportunity to develop our expertise in servicing F404-GE-102 engines. We want to ensure that increasingly advanced maintenance capabilities for equipment used by the Polish Armed Forces are developed and maintained domestically,” said Gazda, adding: “This is yet another example of WZL-2’s consistent development of capabilities that strengthen the security and operational independence of the Polish Armed Forces.”
Under the MoU, GE Aerospace and WZL-2 will assess requirements necessary for F404-GE-102 engine maintenance.
The Polish Air Force ordered 48 KAI FA-50 light combat aircraft in 2022. The first 12 were delivered in the FA-50GF (Gap Filler) configuration in 2023, while the remaining 36 are to be delivered in the FA-50PL configuration. This MoU will cover all 48 F404-GE-102 engines on order as well as spare engines.
More than 4,000 F404 engines have been delivered and have accumulated more than 13 million engine flight hours, including 300 engines that power the T-50, TA-50, and FA-50 Golden Eagle produced in the Republic of Korea.