The first F-35A fighters from the Polish order have been stationed in Ebbing National defender Air Base in Arkansas for respective weeks. On Friday, about 22 Polish times there took place another epochal event – the Polish pilot first flew behind the rudders of "Huszar". Others are standing by with training in simulators.
According to the procedure, the training flight took place utilizing 2 machines in the pursuit formation, so that the American teacher who was flying behind the Pole could check the correctness of the manoeuvres. Polish pilot sat behind the rudders of the F-35A “Huszar” little than 2 months after the first start of the “Polish” device from Lockheed Martin mill airport at the NAS Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Texas.
Latest information from the U.S. Air Force Base at Fort Smith.
— Władysław Kosiniak-Kamish (@KosiniakKamish) January 31, 2025
Polish pilot for the first time behind our controls #F35Oh, my God! It is simply a historical minute for the 🇵🇱 and an highly crucial minute of improvement of our Air Force. Congratulations to the full squad implementing these modern V aircraft... pic.twitter.com/KHliuJIZ4n
Currently, 4 Polish pilots are trained at Ebbing Air National defender (Ebbing Air National Guard) and 2 of them are inactive on simulators. As General Div. Pil. Ireneusz Nowak, Air Force Inspector at the General Command, announced, they should be full trained F-35 combat pilots as planned in April. The general added in a tv interview that 2 Polish pilots would stay in the American centre a small longer to complete the instructor's course.
Base in Ebbing will service as the centre of global pilot training F-35 in the coming years. Apart from Poles in Arkansas, Finns, Germany, Singaporeans and Swiss will be trained. Deputy Minister of National Defence Paweł Bejda announced that 8 Polish F-35A would participate in the training program in Ebbing.
The first F-35 are scheduled 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. The transportation of all 32 ordered 5th generation fighters will last until 2030.
Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is simply a 5th generation fighter manufactured since 2006. The F-35 are presently operating with more than 30 bases worldwide. Contract for the acquisition of F-35 fighters for the Polish Army, the sum of $4.6 billion, was signed in January 2020. The contract provides that the Americans will deliver 32 aircraft, 1 backup Pratt & Whitney F135 engine, ground handling equipment and equipment, as well as a stationary training system, consisting of, among others, 8 mission simulators (Full Mission Simulator). The price besides includes a logistics package, an IT strategy for managing the operation of F-35A Lightning II aircraft and training in US centres of 24 pilots from Poland and about 90 method personnel. The contract besides includes the modernisation of machinery during their usage by the Polish Army.
The Polish F-35 will be armed with AGM-88G AARGM-ER anti-radio-location missiles, which they find, track and combat the enemy's air defence and rocket systems. At the end of January the head of the MON signed the contract to get more than 200 specified missiles. The amount of this investment is about $745 million.
