The Polish air force’s first of 48 Lockheed Martin F-16C/D Block 52+ fighters underwent a 1h debut sortie from the company’s Fort Worth manufacturing site in Texas last week. Warsaw’s first F-16C will be transferred to Edwards AFB, California next month to undergo continued test activities until mid-2007, when it will be joined by a two-seat aircraft now being built. Poland, which will receive five F-16Cs and three Ds by year-end, currently has 25 pilots and 65 ground personnel in training in the USA. The service’s first F-16 squadron will achieve initial operational capability and be declared to support NATO duties by late 2008.
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Source: Flight International
