The base has completed preparations for the arrival of the fifth-generation aircraft, its commander, Col. Krzysztof Duda, told Poland’s PAP news agency.
“We are ready and waiting for the arrival and for the wheels of the first F-35 fighters to touch Polish soil,” Duda said.
Poland ordered 32 F-35A fighter jets from US defense company Lockheed Martin under a USD 4.6 billion contract signed in 2020.
The aircraft will serve in the Polish Air Force under the name Husarz, after Poland’s historic heavy cavalry.
The first jets have already been delivered to the Polish armed forces but remain at Ebbing Air National Guard Base in Arkansas, where Polish pilots and technical personnel have been training.
‘Generational change’
Duda said the arrival of the aircraft in Poland would mark the next stage in a process that has been underway for more than five years.
“We have reached readiness to receive them, but this does not mean the process is over,” he said. “It will continue for a long time.”
He added that the introduction of the F-35 would be “a generational change” for the Polish military.
“We went through such a generational change in the Polish armed forces with the arrival of the F-16,” Duda said. “Now it is time for another one, and this is a multi-domain change concerning the entire armed forces.”
Fifth-generation fighters are designed to be harder for enemy radar to detect. They also use advanced sensors to collect and share information with other aircraft, ground units and naval forces.
The Łask base received US certification in March for infrastructure needed to operate the F-35. The certification process followed modernization work that began in 2022 and included new hangars, technical and logistics facilities, security systems, and support infrastructure for pilots and maintenance crews.
Duda said many parts of the new infrastructure remain classified because of the technology involved.
Certification allows Poland to receive other parts of the F-35 system, including simulators, software, communications systems and the initial equipment package needed to operate the aircraft in Poland.
The 32nd Air Base currently hosts part of Poland’s F-16 fleet and operates within the 2nd Tactical Air Wing, headquartered in the western city of Poznań.
It will become the main Polish F-35 base and is expected to host the first squadron of 16 aircraft.
A detachment of the US Air Force has been permanently based at Łask since November, 2012.
The remaining F-35s will later go to the 21st Air Base in Świdwin, in northwestern Poland, where Soviet-designed Su-22 aircraft were previously stationed.
Polish pilots, engineers, technicians, logistics personnel and system administrators have been training in the United States since last year. Duda said some have already returned to Łask, while others will follow after completing their courses.
Polish pilots who complete instructor training will later train future F-35 personnel in Poland, Duda said.
The exact date and number of aircraft in the first arrival have not been disclosed for operational reasons.
An official welcome ceremony is planned for the first half of June, when the aircraft are expected to be presented on the ground and in the air.
Deliveries of all 32 aircraft are scheduled to be completed by 2029. Fourteen F-35s are expected to be in Poland by the end of this year, with another 12 due by the end of 2027.
(rt/gs)
Source: IAR, PAP