The government adopted, and then referred to the Sejm, a bill amending the Act on the Signs of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland, which concerns, among others, the introduction of an air board in a low visibility version. Amendments to the rules were essential and contrary to emerging suggestions, they did not mean the complete replacement of white-red chessboards with a symbol in shades of grey.
Rumors that Polish fighters will not be marked with a conventional white-red chessboard appeared a fewer months ago after General Wiesław Kukuła, who announced the introduction of fresh markings in grey shades. However, the Chief of the General Staff of the Polish Air Force spoke only about this in the context of F-35 machines, which will start serving in the Polish air force in 2026. Due to stealth technology, placing distinctively distinctive elements on the hull of the fighter would be a misunderstanding due to the fact that it could increase its radar visibility. – F-35 in Poland are not intended to service show purposes, but to deter and be ready for immediate use. In general, it is besides challenging to usage anything that can enter into a "chemical" interaction with stealth coverage. These are costs we should not bear – the general commented a fewer months ago.
December 2 at NAS Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Texas Polish F-35 made the first test flight. The photographs of the “Huszar” with the number 3502 and the chessboard in shades of grey on the vertical ballast caused rather a stir in Poland. Formally, specified a version of the board is not a sign utilized by the Armed Forces of Poland. However, it was known that the government was working on an amendment to the Act, allowing the usage of specified a version of air chessboard on military units.
The consequence of these works is simply a bill aimed at the Sejm on 27 December 2024. The amendment includes, among another things, the key to Polish air force paragraph 3 in Article 22, which states that: “In cases justified by safety requirements or operating conditions, an air board can be utilized in a low visibility version. In this case, the red fields are replaced by the surface colour on which the airboard is applied and the white fields are lighter than the contrast-matched background colour.’
The applicant explained that “the definition of the low visibility air chessboard is due to the needs of the Plenipotentiary of the Ministry of National Defence for Acquisition and Implementation into the Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland Multipurpose 5th Generation Air Force Inspector. Currently, a white-red airboard is placed on military aircraft. In order to guarantee better masking of military aircraft, it is advisable to introduce a fresh marking preventing their early detection while correctly marking their nationality.’
– At the phase of preparation for the production of Polish F-35, a advice was received from the American side to paint the air chessboard in low visibility alternatively of white-red, as the usage of standard characters could adversely affect the visual detection and tracking of the F-35 aircraft under certain conditions," explains Colonel Karol Budniak, head of the F-35 aircraft implementation team. “Poland has accepted this recommendation, as many another F-35 users had previously done: USA, United Kingdom, Italy, Israel, Japan, Norway, Australia, South Korea, Netherlands”, added an officer.
The statutory introduction of the chessboard in the low visibility version is so straight due to the specificity of the F-35 aircraft, which will just enter the equipment of the air force. And that does not mean that white and red signs will vanish from another machines. Colonel Budniak stresses that the amendment of the Act does not apply to all machines. – These changes do not retreat white-red chessboards, which will be painted as standard, the exception will be situations requiring the usage of characters in the low visibility version," says the F-35 squad leader.
The first F-35 with a chessboard are to arrive in the country in 2026. They will be stationed at 32th Tactical Aviation Base in Łask and 21st Tactical Aviation Base in Świdwin. Delivering all 32 ordered 5th generation fighters will last until 2030.
