The Inspectorate for Armed Forces Support is presenting its own equipment and that of the Land Forces and Air Force on 6,000 sq. m of exhibition space. This year the exposition is divided into two parts.

Three mechanics can work in the containerised vehicle repair shop. The container can be used in temperatures from -30 to +50°C thanks to a heating/air conditioning module, and it has an added tent for extra technical elements for repairs. The front part of the container houses chambers, one on top of the other, with the compressor, air conditioning and heating module and a power generator giving the repair shop autonomy, but also allowing it to provide power to other vehicles and for other purposes. The design is the effect of mission experience, mainly from Iraq, where similar repair shops are still specialized, i.e. can only accommodate certain types of vehicles.The currently tested model has been designed as a repair facility for wheeled and tracked vehicles and trailers, thanks to the optimum selection of tools and equipment. The unified container based on ISO standards allows the repair shop to be transported along any road and by any means available for containers.

A third of the space is occupied by elements of logistics support which Polish soldiers have taken to Chad. The rest of the exhibition is dedicated to new solutions applied by the military or equipment which the Armed Forces wanted to present. The exposition is supplemented by a presentation of the Flight Accident Investigation Commission’s specialist vehicle and a modernization package - including the TS-11 Iskra aircraft - presented by the Air Force Institute of Technology (ITWL).

The project’s main organizer is the 1st Logistics Brigade from Bydgoszcz, while transporting the elements and objects on display as well as providing staff facilities was the task of the 11th Equipment Evacuation Battalion from Czarne. They brought 71 pieces of equipment and containers to Kielce. Transport required 5 low-chassis vehicles and 4 Jelcz 861 vehicles plus a trailer, mainly for transporting containers. Each vehicle made two runs between Bydgoszcz and Kielce to bring all the items in.

The 11th Equipment Evacuation Battalion lent its transport equipment to other units taking exhibits to the event, from the Land Forces as well as the Air Force and Military Police. Lt Col. Jan Lipiński, commander of the 11th Battalion, told RAPORT-wto that it took 12 hours to transport one truck unit on a low-chassis vehicle over 400 km. The crew needed another 12 hours to rest, so the first equipment was dispatched in late August.

The Armed Forces team comprises 271 people. Their main base is the Military Training Centre for U.N. Peacekeeping Forces in Kielce, where the 1st Logistics Brigade has additionally put up six 10-person pneumatic tents for the crew - like the ones presented at the exhibition, which are also used in the temporary camp of the Polish Military Contingent in Chad (see RAPORT-wto 09/2008) - plus a field canteen serving meals.

The Polish Military Contingent in Chad already has two containers for storing strategic reserves in temperatures from -30 to +50°C and in all climate zones. This is the first test of a pre-serial model developed by the Inspectorate for Armed Forces Support. The container is fitted with a dynamic drying system.Experience to date, for example from the mission in the Congo, shows that regular containers should not be used for storing important technical materials and spare parts. After a month in the humid climate of Africa, parts tarnished and even rusted due to moisture. The only question to consider is the container’s tightness (vacuum-based or physical). The omnipresent dust in Afghanistan and dry African countries can harm stores just as badly as humidity.

The part of the exhibition featuring logistics support for PMC Chad presents two solutions based on ISO 20” containers, developed chiefly at the Inspectorate for Armed Forces Support (IWSZ). Missions in the tropics have shown that tools and spare parts cannot be stored in regular containers. High humidity and lack of ventilation cause the parts to tarnish or even rust. A special container model with a dynamic forced ventilation system has been developed by WZU in Grudziądz.

Of four existing containers, two are currently in Chad. They are used for storing the most valuable and delicate spare parts and electronic elements. They can be used to store and transport 13,700 kg, while the container itself weighs 2,800 kg. Based on a similar design, the IWSZ has developed a universal containerised vehicle repair shop which can accommodate the great majority of tracked and wheeled vehicles used by the Polish military. The prototype shown at MSPO is still at the testing stage. This six-ton autonomous workshop with its own power supply, generators, compressor and air conditioning will soon be sent to a testing ground.