PZL I-22 Iryda

Polish jet trainer aircraft

The PZL I 22 Iryda, otherwise known as the PZL M93 Iryda and PZL M96 Iryda, was a twin engine, two seat military jet trainer aircraft developed and produced by Polish aviation company PZL Mielec. Work started on what would become the Iryda in 1976 as a successor to the indigenously developed TS 11 Iskra jet trainer. First flying on 3 March 1985, the type would have a protracted development, partly due to the initial unavailability of its PZL K 15 turbojet engines. The Polish Air Force received the first K 15 powered Irydras in May 1995. However, aircraft deliveries were complicated by disputes over cost and performance, leading to multiple announcements, policy reversals, and groundings of the type. A fatal accident involving the type on 24 January 1996 fuelled criticism and undermined support for the programme. In 1996, an agreement was struck to upgrade the existing aircraft to a new standard, flight testing of which commenced the following year. However, relations between PZL Mielec and the Polish Defense Ministry became so poor over the programme that legal action was initiated while the Iryda itself languished. In the late 1990s Polish Government support for the programme was withdrawn, and the handful of delivered aircraft were stored. Despite attempts to revive the programme by PZL Mielec, no orders have been forthcoming.

In 1976, the Warsaw Institute of Aeronautics (Polish: Instytut Lotnictwa) initiated work on a program to develop a new jet powered trainer aircraft; this was primarily envisioned to replace the Polish Air Force's existing TS 11 Iskra fleet, an indigenously developed first generation jet trainer aircraft. A key feature of the new type would be its PZL K 15 turbojet engines, which were also locally designed by the Warsaw Institute of Aeronautics. Unlike the five preceding units of the type that had been previously handed over, the M 93K model was powered by the PZL K 15 engines instead of the older PZL 5 units which had been adopted as an interim powerplant. Amongst other benefits, the more powerful K 15 engines almost doubled the Iryda's payload capacity. That same month, a rival plan to procure second hand Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jets for the Polish Air Force was officially suspended; the negative impact on Polish industry was apparently a major contributing factor to this decision. According to aerospace industry periodical Flight International, Polish Air Force officials at one point were claiming the Iryda fleet to have achieved the highest serviceability statistics in the air force's inventory. During March 1996, the Warsaw Institute of Aeronautics abandoned development of its new D 18A engine, which was intended to power future combat orientated versions of the Iryda, reportedly due to market viability concerns. In April 1996, the programme was officially resumed in response to a fresh order from the Polish Air Force, which involved the purchase of six new build aircraft and the retrofitting of 11 existing aircraft in air force service with improved engines, avionics and wings by 1998. During October 1996, PZL Mielec stated that it aimed for an upgraded prototype to be flown prior to the end of the year; the company also had ambitions to secure a follow on order in the coming year, as well as for a modified maritime reconnaissance/strike version that were envisioned to replace the Polish Navy's fleet of MiG 21bis fighters. In June 1997, an Iryda flew for the first time with both the upgraded avionics package and the aerodynamic improvements. Full scale flight testing of the upgraded aircraft was reportedly set to commence during August of that year; it was anticipated that the upgrade would be certified during 1998, after which the Polish Air Force would commence operational use of the type.

Relations between PZL Mielec and the Polish Defense Ministry broke down in the second half of 1997, culminating in the company opting to sue the ministry over its alleged failure to honour the terms of a contract pertaining to the Iryda. The Polish Air Force's procurement of the Iryda was formally cancelled in 1998, allegedly in response to the development difficulties experienced as well as the protracted shortage of funding that was common around this period; a key event that had reportedly contributed to its cancellation was the fatal crash in 1996. In the summer of 2002, PZL Mielec relaunched development of the type, resuming flights of the Iryda on 22 July of that year, while attempting to gain interest and secure orders. Dubbed Iskra 2, it received a new Thales supplied avionics suite and featured underwing hard points to enable it to carry armament, external fuel tanks, and other equipment.

Polish Air Force. 8 aircraft (1992 1996)