The PZL-230 Skorpion was the Soviet Response to the A-10 Warthog
It should come as no surprise that the Eastern Bloc powers came up with their own aerial counterparts to the A-10.
Though the Republic Fairchild A-10 Thunderbolt II, far better known by its unofficial nickname of “Warthog,“ has amassed a super-impressive combat record, from the 1991 Persian Gulf War to the Global War on Terror, it was never used for the purpose that it was originally envisioned. Indeed, the A-10 Warthog was devised to fight World War III, i.e., the Cold War turning “hot” via an invasion of Western Europe by the Soviet Union and the Soviets’ Warsaw Pact allies, whereupon the Warthog would be called upon to kill the communist invaders’ main battle tanks (MBTs) and armored personnel carriers (APCs).
In turn, it should come as no surprise that the Eastern Bloc powers came up with their own aerial counterparts to the A-10. Most famously, there was the Soviet-designed Sukhoi Su-25 (NATO reporting name “Frogfoot”). However, almost lost to history was the fact that another Warsaw Pact nation, Poland, devised a would-be A-10 equivalent that would’ve been more sophisticated than either the Warthog or the Frogfoot. Say “Witam (Hello)” to the PZL-230 Skorpion (“Scorpion”).
PZL-230 Skorpion Conceptualization
For all of the many jet fighters and bombers that the Soviets designed during the Cold War, it’s not entirely surprising that it was the Poles that conceptualized their own high-tech warbirds. After all, pre-Communist Poland already had a proud history of combat aviation prowess, from the Polish Air Force pilots who made a gallant (even though ultimately unsuccessful) stand against the Nazi German blitzkrieg of September 1939 to 303 Squadron, the Polish exiles who proved to be the deadliest fighter pilots in the Royal Air Force during the Battle of Britain in 1940.
That said, the inspiration for this particular story comes from a January 2025 story on MSN’s Found And Explained channel—narrated by Nicholas “Nick” Cummins—titled “Meet The Polish A-10 Killer – Skorpion Fighter Jet.” As the text blurb to the video says:
“In the 1990s, Poland designed the Skorpion fighter jet—a close combat aircraft with stealth features, twin Gatling cannons, and the ability to carry 4,000 kilos of bombs. Touted as a game-changer, the project faced technical challenges, political roadblocks, and budget concerns. This story explores how the Skorpion promised to revolutionize aviation before being grounded permanently.”
Actually, not to nitpick Nick on the “1990s” timeframe, but according to the GlobalSecurity website, “The first version of the Scorpion was ready in December 1988 and presented by a team of designers under the direction of Andrzeja Frydrychewicza”; this date turned out to be six months before Communism collapsed in Poland. Also, Nick’s title of “Polish A-10 Killer” is, with all due respect, highly misleading, as the Skorpion wasn’t so much designed to kill the Warthog as it was to one-up it.
In any event, the PZL-230 would have been built by PZL Warszawa-Okęcie (a company that traces its origins back to 1928). This initial version—derived from the PZL-130 Orlik (“Eaglet”) single-engine prop trainer aircraft—was envisioned as a single-seat small, agile battlefield attack (SABA) aircraft, projected to require just 250 meters for takeoff, and 220 meters for landing (in other words, a short take-off and landing ]STOL] aircraft). It is fitted with turboprop propulsion that could generate a max airspeed of 640 km/h (390 mph), and weaponry consisting of a 30 mm cannon with 750 rounds of ammunition, missiles, and bombs.
After Poland’s Communist regime and the Warsaw Pact as a whole went kaput, the post-Communist Polish Air Force took on a newfound sense of ambition and decided to upgrade the original design by increasing the requirements for speed, range, and payload, leading to a heavier and thus more expensive aircraft. Oh yes, the plane was now also expected to have a fly-by-wire flight control system and (as already noted) stealth capabilities!
PZL-230 Skorpion Configurations and Specifications
The new and improved (read: Westernized and jet-powered) aircraft would’ve had the following vital stats:
- Crew: one
- Fuselage Length: 10 m (32 ft 10 in)
- Wingspan: 12.1 m (39 ft 8 in)
- Height: 4.2 m (13 ft 9 in)
- Wing Area: 25.4 m2 (273 sq ft)
- Gross Weight: 11,000 kg (24,251 lb)
- Powerplant: two x Pratt & Whitney Canada PW305 turbofan engines
- Max Airspeed: Mach 0.85 (1,000 km/h; 620 mph; 540 kn)
- Combat Range: 300 km 190 mi
- Service Ceiling: 12,000 m (39,000 ft)
- Rate of Climb: 90 m/s (18,000 ft/min)
- Takeoff Distance: 300 metres (980 ft)
- Armament: 4,000 kg (8,800 lb.) of ordnance, plus an internally-mounted 25mm General Dynamics GAU-12/U Equalizer cannon and a pod-mounted 30mm GAU-8/A Avenger cannon (yes, the latter is the same gun built into the Warthog!)
The redesign also called for double-delta main wings and fuselage afterbody that was blended into the wing along with a set of small canards behind the cockpit for simultaneous pitch and roll control. These features were intended to make possible flight at 50 degree angle of attack and ability to make 180 degree turn in only five seconds.
And as an additional indication of the PZL’s openness to incorporating Western technology, the warbird would’ve included a British-made Martin-Baker Mk10 rocket-assisted ejection seat.
So, What Went Wrong?
Alas, as Cummins points out:
“Now, there were some flaws with the design. First, it was discovered later that the engines chosen for the aircraft, the PW305 turbofans, wouldn’t have been powerful enough either. So in turn they were swapped out for Honeywell LF507s, no longer fitting in the fuselage and giving it a V-shaped tail. Also, this whole obsession with stealth was rather silly … Not only would it have had a terrible radar cross section when it was fully armed, its mission profile wouldn’t even need stealth features. The cost of the program was also beyond optimistic. The manufacturer was claiming at the time that it would 11,500 billion zlotys, which is $65 million U.S., to develop this plane, which is bonkers. As we know today, planes cost billions to design.”
In short, the Skorpion concept became too complicated and violated the Keep It Simple, Stupid (KISS) Principle. It was scrapped in December 1994.
About the Author: Christian D. Orr
Christian D. Orr was previously a Senior Defense Editor for National Security Journal (NSJ) and 19FortyFive. He is a former Air Force Security Forces officer, Federal law enforcement officer, and private military contractor (with assignments worked in Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kosovo, Japan, Germany, and the Pentagon). Chris holds a B.A. in International Relations from the University of Southern California (USC) and an M.A. in Intelligence Studies (concentration in Terrorism Studies) from American Military University (AMU). He has also been published in The Daily Torch, The Journal of Intelligence and Cyber Security, and Simple Flying. Last but not least, he is a Companion of the Order of the Naval Order of the United States (NOUS). If you’d like to pick his brain further, you can ofttimes find him at the Old Virginia Tobacco Company (OVTC) lounge in Manassas, Virginia, partaking of fine stogies and good quality human camaraderie.
Image: Shutterstock.