NATO member Poland is on track to receive its first two Lockheed Martin F-35A stealth fighters in December.
Manufacturer Lockheed revealed the inaugural Polish jet, designated tail number “AZ-01”, on 28 August at the company’s F-35 assembly site in Fort Worth, Texas. The lead fighters will initially be stationed at the USA’s Ebbing Air National Guard Base in Arkansas, among eight examples which will be used to train Polish air force pilots until 2027. The next two of those jets will be transferred to the site in January-February 2025.
A total of 24 pilots and 92 ground personnel will be trained by the US Air Force, with the Polish air force’s first two instructor pilots to begin receiving their instruction from mid-September.
Warsaw plans to outfit two combat squadrons with a total 32 F-35As. The fighters will operate with the local designation “Husarz” – the Polish term for a historic cavalry unit.
“Over more than 100 years of the Polish air force, there have been many generations of pilots and aircraft,” Polish air force inspector Major General Ireneusz Nowak said in Fort Worth on 28 August. “We are joining a strong coalition of fifth-generation fighters across Europe, bolstering air superiority through allied deterrence.”
Delivery of Poland’s first F-35 will also be significant for Lockheed, which only recently resumed deliveries of new-build F-35s after a year-long pause.
Intractable airworthiness issues during flight certification of the latest F-35 technical configuration led the Pentagon to stop accepting new aircraft in summer 2023. Lockheed and the F-35 Joint Program Office (JPO) only in July reached an agreement to restart deliveries – but only of jets with a limited training configuration.
The JPO manages F-35 acquisitions for all global operators.
Lockheed is still working out issues with the new hardware and software, known collectively as Technical Refresh 3 (TR-3). The Pentagon expects full combat approval of TR-3 F-35s will come in 2025.
The upgrades include new avionics and software meant to improve the F-35’s onboard communications and processing power. These enhancements will enable weapon and sensor upgrades forthcoming with F-35 Block 4 variants.
“TR-3 and Block 4 represent a critical evolution in capability, and their full development remains a top priority for us,” said Bridget Lauderdale, Lockheed’s general manager of the F-35 programme, in July.
Production of the Polish aircraft is being divided between Fort Worth and a separate final assembly and check-out line in Cameri, Italy. Both sites will produce 16 of Warsaw’s aircraft, which will be completed in the TR-3 configuration.
The first Polish air force unit to operate the stealth fighters within the country will be established at the 32nd Tactical Air Base in Lask, with its first aircraft will arrive in January 2026. Initial operational capability (IOC) is scheduled during 2027, with full operational capability (FOC) to follow two years later. The site already houses a squadron operating Lockheed F-16C/Ds.
A second squadron of F-35As is to be established in 2027 at the 21st Tactical Air Base in Swidwin, where Poland bases Sukhoi Su-22 ground-attack aircraft. Its IOC target is 2029, with FOC due to be declared in 2032.
Poland is also considering acquiring Boeing’s F-15EX Eagle II – the latest version of that venerable multi-role fighter.
Additional reporting by Bartosz Glowacki
