PZL Mielec M28 Skytruck D-CPDB inside out full departure 16. October 2024

Im Jahr 2017 wurden vier PZL Mielec M28 Skytruck durch das Unternehmen PD Air Operation (Privat Defense and Education Services GmbH) mit Sitz in Magdeburg für die Bundeswehr beschafft. Der Mietvertrag für diese Maschinen war bereits einige Jahre zuvor in die Wege geleitet worden. PD Air Operation war verantwortlich für die Anschaffung der M28 und die Ausbildung der Crews.

Zu jener Zeit war die Beschaffung der C-130 durch die Bundeswehr noch kein Thema. Die M28 wurde als kurzfristig verfügbare und kostengünstige Alternative zum A400M in der Rolle als Absetzmaschine bei der Ausbildung von Fallschirmspringern eingesetzt, insbesondere da die C-160, die bisher diese Aufgabe erfüllte, sich dem Ende ihrer Lebensdauer näherte und der A400M noch nicht vollständig für das Absetzen von Fallschirmspringern zertifiziert war.

Auch zukünftig, selbst wenn die Bundeswehr über 53 A400M verfügen wird, besteht weiterhin Bedarf an einer solchen Ausbildungsabsetzmaschine. Die Fallschirmjäger führen mit den Gleitfallschirmen Tandem- und Nachtsprünge durch, sowohl mit als auch ohne Gepäck. Dabei sammeln sie ihre ersten Erfahrungen mit dieser neuen Maschine.

In 2017, four PZL Mielec M28 Skytrucks were acquired by the company PD Air Operation (Private Defense and Education Services GmbH), based in Magdeburg, for the German Armed Forces (Bundeswehr). The lease contract for these aircraft had been initiated several years earlier. PD Air Operation was responsible for procuring the M28s and training the crews.

At that time, the acquisition of the C-130 by the Bundeswehr was not yet under consideration. The M28 was seen as a readily available and cost-effective alternative to the A400M in the role of a drop aircraft for paratrooper training, especially since the C-160, which had previously performed this task, was nearing the end of its service life, and the A400M had not yet been fully certified for parachute drops.

Even in the future, when the Bundeswehr will have 53 A400Ms, there will still be a need for such a training drop aircraft. The paratroopers perform tandem and night jumps with gliding parachutes, both with and without gear, gaining their first experiences with this new aircraft.

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