First F-35As purchased by Poland arrive at US National Guard airbase

The first two F-35As purchased by Poland have arrived at Ebbing Air National Guard Base in Fort Smith, Arkansas. The aircraft are being prepared for the start of the training programme, in which Polish pilots will fly these fighters for the first time in January 2025.

Here's What We Know

The arrival of the aircraft was announced by Polish Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz on social media platform X. Ebbing Air Force Base will host 8 Polish F-35As, which will train 24 pilots and 92 technicians until 2027. The pilots will be qualified as instructors, which will allow them to conduct training in Poland.

Further training will take place in Poland at an integrated training centre with eight simulators. Poland has ordered 32 F-35A aircraft under an intergovernmental agreement concluded in 2020: the contract is valued at $4.6 billion. The fighters will be equipped with the advanced Block 4 configuration and Technical Refresh 3 (TR3) systems.

It is expected that the first squadron will be on combat duty at the 32nd Tactical Air Base in Łaski by the end of 2025, and the second squadron will be on combat duty at the 21st Air Base in Świdwin by 2030.

Earlier it was reported that on 2 December, the first Polish F-35A Lightning II test flight took place in the United States. The aircraft took off from the Lockheed Martin plant in Texas, spending more than an hour in the air.

Source: X