Polish Air Force Su-22 Farewell

Text & Photography by Simone Marcato & Matteo Buono

The beginnings

With a farewell ceremony held at the 12 Baza Bezzałogowych Statków Powietrznych (12th Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Base) located 5 km north of Mirosławiec, on September 11, 2025, the Polish Air Force officially retired the last of its Sukhoi Su-22 Fitter fighter-bombers.

This powerful Cold War-era swing-wing fighter-bomber served in the Polish marks for more than forty years, with the first of 90 single-seat Su-22M4s and 20 two-seat Su-22UM3Ks arriving at Piła Air Base on August 28, 1984. The deliveries went on until 1988, and these Soviet-made jets operated in several Pułk Lotnictwa Myśliwsko-Bombowego (PLMB or Fighter-Bomber Aviation Regiments) at Pila, Powidz, Miroslawiec, and Swidwin airbases becoming soon a backbone of the air force.

Through the Cold War

The Fitter has always been praised for its ruggedness and ease of maintenance, two features typical of many frontline tactical jets designed by the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

The Polish Su-22s survived the fall of the Berlin Wall and the subsequent disintegration of the Warsaw Pact, continuing to play a pivotal role mainly in ground attack and recon roles over the next two decades. With Poland’s entry into NATO in 1999, it seemed that the career of the Polish Sukhoi would end, as had happened with the aircraft in service with the air forces of other former Warsaw Pact countries: in fact, at the turn of the millennium, the Russian and Hungarian ones were retired (1998), followed by the Czech and Slovak ones in 2002, while the Bulgarian ones were decommissioned in 2003.

Instead, it was decided to proceed with an initial modernisation of 32 aircraft, equipping them with new radios, anti-collision lights, and IFF devices compatible with NATO standards, with their retirement scheduled for 2016.

Soldiering on in the modern years

Despite the entry into service of the F-16C/D Block 52 in 2006/2008, it was nevertheless decided to proceed with another small upgrade for 18 jets (12 Su-22M4s and 12 Su-22UM3Ks).

This includes new avionics, a modern Polish-made RS-6113 VHF/UHF radio, a digital flight data recorder and a new gun camera. All the cockpit instruments were switched from metric to imperial units, and the airframe’s service life was extended by 10 years. The updated jets were instantly recognizable thanks to the adoption of the new two-tone grey camouflage that replaced the original green-and-brown.

Due to the ongoing deterioration of relations with Russia and the resulting difficulties in obtaining spare parts and technical assistance, the work was carried out by Wojskowe Zaklady Lotnicze Nr 2 in Bydgoszcz, the same Polish company that had been maintaining the aircraft since their introduction into service.

Even with upgrades, the biggest problem for the Polish Su-22s in recent years was that they couldn’t use Western weapons and had no guided weapons after the old Soviet Kh-29 missiles were retired because they were outdated. On the other hand, integration with the KKR reconnaissance/ELINT pod proved invaluable, as Poland had no other aircraft capable of performing this role.

Over the past decade, growing tensions with Russia and Poland’s subsequent heavy investments in defence have allowed the Polish Air Force to purchase 32 Lockheed Martin F-35A stealth fighters and 48 KAI F/A-50 light multirole fighters, which, together with the introduction of Turkish Bayraktar TB-2 drones, will replace the Soviet-era jets still in service.

The farewell ceremony

On September 10th, the final flights of the 21 Eskadra Lotnictwa Taktycznego (21 ELT – 21 tactical squadron) Su-22s were witnessed by some 300 photographers who were attentively monitoring the operations of an incredibly well-planned event.

For several months now, the last Su-22s have found their final resting place in Mirosławiec rather than in Świdwin, the permanent base of the 21 ELT, as the latter is nearing completion of the work necessary to accommodate the first F-35s.

Three special livery Su-22UM-3Ks (the well-known 707 with the tiger scheme, the recent 509 with its double camouflage, and the 308 with its new red-and-white farewell tail which highlighted its service with the Polish flag), along with the single Su-22M4 number 3201, equipped with the KKR reconnaissance/ELINT pod, were present on the flight line. Two other single-seaters (8309 and 3304) were present in the static display, both available to be photographed.

In particular, the 3304 had a full array of munitions and weaponry displayed in front of the jet: R-60 air-to-air missiles, SPCP WR guided air targets, free-fall bombs, unguided rocket pods and GSh-23 23 mm twin-barrel cannon pods.

In the morning the event included formation flypasts by the three double-seaters, which soared over the aircraft’s previous operating bases before their landing. The 3201 flew an operational sortie carrying the KKR pod.

In the afternoon another pair of missions was performed by the 308 and 707.

The latter was piloted by Colonel Roman Stefaniak, commander of 21 BLT (21st Tactical Air Base), Świdwin, and former Su-22 display pilot. During the media interviews, he said:

“I will say goodbye to this aircraft with great regret, because in my case, I started my professional service on this aircraft as an officer at Piła. He has become my real friend; he’s in my arms, and he’s with me everywhere. I also have a tattoo denoting him. I will always be with him, a big part of my life.“

However, the future appears bright for his unit, as he explained: “Simply as something ends, something begins. We have received a great opportunity — we are the beneficiaries of the Lockheed Martin F-35 and KAI FA-50 programmes. A new era with new challenges and new opportunities. So it’s easier to say goodbye to [the Su-22] because we know there’s continuity—the aircrew, ground crew, soldiers, and staff will all have work, and the base is developing through large-scale construction. Everything is moving forward; there’s optimism.“