In the late 1980s, PZL started developing a new aircraft intended to combine high manoeuvrability, short take-off and landing (STOL) performance, and the ability to carry a 2,000 kg payload while remaining a low-cost platform to procure and to operate.

However, the proposal was radically changed following a decision to submit it to a requirement issued for Polish Air Force which sought a light strike and battlefield support aircraft; accordingly, the payload was doubled and the speed was raised dramatically.

The abrupt withdrawal of support after having been recognised two years earlier as a government-approved programme was widely attributed to the formation of a new left-wing Polish government led by Waldemar Pawlak.

As of its 1994 redesign, performance estimates for the Skorpion included a maximum level speed of 540 kn (1,000 km/h), a 32,800 ft (10,000 m) service ceiling and a 300 km (160 nmi) combat radius.

It also required an ability to take-off and land on a runway of about 250 m in length, travel at speeds of up to 640 km/h, be armed with a 25 mm cannon and be able to carry up to 2,000 kg of both Warsaw Pact and NATO munitions.

[citation needed] Early on, the Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-67A turboprop engine was selected to power the type; these were to be mounted in a pusher configuration on either side of the rear fuselage.

During the years immediately following the fall of Communism in Eastern Europe, the air force's requirement was hotly contested by Poland's various aircraft manufacturers, each of which were eager to secure their uncertain future.

[2] By this point, it had been redesigned for a second time with the engines now mounted inside fairings in the wing while other features, such as fly-by-wire and stealth characteristics, had also been incorporated.

[2] Aspects of the Skorpion were viewed as being relatively advanced elements for a company who had previously specialised in the production of agricultural and utility aircraft.

[2] As of its 1994 redesign, performance estimates for the Skorpion included a maximum level speed of 540 kn (1,000 km/h), a 9,970 m (32,800 ft) service ceiling and a 300 km (160 nmi) combat radius.

As PZL Okecie lacked the in-house capability to produce this structure, co-operation on the manufacturing process was discussed with several foreign aviation companies, including British Aerospace (BAE) and Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA (CASA).

[4] Frydrychewicz intended to use the Orzel trainer as a stepping stone to develop several technologies for the Skorpion; it has been claimed that the two design shared various elements.