Poland aims to operate a total of 32 F-35As from two bases.
Poland has marked the arrival of its first three Lockheed Martin F-35A fighters at a local air base.
“This is a great day for Poland, the Polish armed forces, for the air force,” says deputy prime minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz.
On 23 May, the three aircraft arrived at the nation’s Lask air base, where they will be based. They were accompanied by a pair of Polish air force F-16s.
Polish pilots have been working with the F-35 for over two years. In December 2024 Warsaw accepted its first two examples in the USA, after which Polish began training its first cohort of pilots for the type at a Ebbing Air National Guard Base in Arkansas.
Warsaw eventually plans to field 32 conventional take-off and landing F-35As, which will operate locally with the moniker “Husarz”. The fleet is anticipated to reach full operational capability by 2030.
Polish F-35As will eventually be divided between two bases: Lask and Swidwin.
Poland, a member of NATO, is in the midst of a major defence upgrade as it contemplates Moscow’s invasion of neighbouring Ukraine and the militarism of Russian ruler Vladimir Putin.
This includes replacing its aging fleet of F-16Cs with the F-35A. Warsaw is also considering an acquisition of the Boeing F-15EX.
In addition, it has also taken delivery of 12 Korea Aerospace Industries FA-50GF light attack jets, and is awaiting 36 more capable FA-50PLs.
Cirium, an aviation analytics company, indicates that nine European countries operate a total of 247 F-35s. Poland, for its part, is listed as having received eight examples so far.
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