Poland's government in 2020 signed a USD 4.6 billion deal to buy 32 state-of-the-art F-35 fighter jets from the United States in what officials hailed as a new era for the Polish air force and a key step in boosting the country’s defenses.
The Polish air force will operate the fifth-generation aircraft under the name Husarz.
The jet can carry a wide range of weapons, including the AGM-158 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile, known as JASSM, which can strike targets hundreds of kilometers away.
The United States approved Poland to buy 821 JASSM missiles in March this year.
The General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces said "aircraft AZ-05, AZ-06 and AZ-07" will soon move from the Lockheed Martin plant at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Texas, to Ebbing Air National Guard Base in Arkansas.
“AZ-05, AZ-06 and AZ-07 will soon be relocated from the LM factory airfield at NAS Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth in Texas to the U.S. Air National Guard base Ebbing ANGB in the state of Arkansas, where they will support the flight-training process of Polish pilots,” the statement said.
Four Polish F-35s already operate at Ebbing. Three more are expected to join them between late November and December, with an eighth due in February.
These first eight jets will be used in the United States for Polish training. Deliveries of another 14 aircraft are planned for next year, and those will fly directly to Poland.
The first F-35s are scheduled to land in the country in May or June 2026.
The jets will be based at the 32nd Tactical Air Base in Łask and the 21st Tactical Air Base in Świdwin. Both facilities are undergoing major upgrades to meet the F-35's technical and security requirements.
The remaining 10 aircraft are due to arrive between 2027 and 2029. Jets used for training in the United States are slated to transfer to Poland in the third quarter of 2027.
Pilot and ground crew preparations are underway in the United States.
The first flight by a Polish pilot in an F-35 took place on January 31. Since then two pilots have qualified as instructors, two more are training for instructor roles, and another two have started conversion courses from other aircraft types.
System administrators and logistics staff have finished training, and engineers and technicians from the Air Engineering Service are in the practical phase at Ebbing.
Production of the first Polish aircraft was completed in August 2024, with all deliveries scheduled by 2029.
The F-35 is produced by the American company Lockheed Martin and has become a core combat aircraft for NATO.
The stealth design makes radar detection more difficult. Its onboard sensors collect information and share it with pilots and allied units on land and at sea, including air defense systems such as Patriot.
(rt/gs)
Source: IAR, PAP