The Ministry of National Defence has decided to lease AIM-9P Sidewinder missiles to FA-50 school-fighting aircraft. This is simply a temporary solution due to the fact that Poland wants to arm the FA-50 in the latest version of AIM-9X air-to-air missiles. Deputy Prime Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz reported that negotiations on their acquisition are already being completed.
– We have Polish FA-50! The Korean side completed the formalities – the lease agreement for short-range AIM-9P Sidewinder came into force late last night, wrote Deputy Minister Paweł Bejda on platform X. The fact that the Ministry of Defence decided to lease AIM-9P Sidewinder missiles to FA-50GF school-fighting aircraft informed a fewer hours earlier Deputy Prime Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamish. The modernization of our armed forces is ongoing. I'll start with the good news that concerns the acquisition and leasing of air-to-air missiles for FA-50 aircraft. We have already signed a lease agreement, we are in the final negotiation agreement for the acquisition of arms for FA-50 training and combat aircraft," said the head of the MON before the Polish delegation left for NATO summit in The Hague.
In turn, the Armed Forces Agency, which is liable for procuring military equipment and weapons for the army, stated in the communication that the leasing of AIM-9P missiles would end erstwhile it was possible to equip the native FA-50s with a more modern variant of that weapon. – Leasing missiles will enter the weapons of the Polish Air Force until the transportation of more advanced versions of AIM-9 Sidewinder for light combat aircraft purchased in 2022u – explained the Agency in social media.
Production: Aleksander Kruk, Bernadette Waskielewicz, Marcin Kopieć
Deputy Minister Paweł Bejda announced on platform X that we will shortly learn the details of the contract to buy a modern version of missiles.
Currently, the Polish military has 12 FA-50 training and combat aircraft. in the GF version, but yet Poland will have 48 copies (including 36 in the FA-50PL version). The FA-50GF model has a limited scope of weapons, including Mk 82 household bombs and AGM-65 Maverick air-to-ground missiles. AIM-9P Sidewinder missiles, which will let FA-50GF to attack aircraft, were developed in the 1970s as an export variant of AIM-9L/M air-to-air missiles.
