The newspaper says only around half of the F-16s can currently be scrambled, but the number of pilots is still too low for effective use of the fleet.
Training an F-16 pilot takes around two years, meaning the shortage cannot be addressed quickly.
The newspaper partly attributes the shortage to an inefficient training system. Last year, only a few jet pilots were trained in Dęblin, east-central Poland.
Some F-16 pilots have transferred to the F-35 fleet. Four years ago, then Air Force Inspector General Ireneusz Nowak publicly warned about potential difficulties providing enough pilots for the US-made fighter jets. He is now Poland’s operational commander.
In 2025, Poland signed a contract worth nearly PLN 15 billion (EUR 3.5 billion) to upgrade its F-16s to the F-16V Viper standard through a Mid-Life Upgrade (MLU) programme.
The newspaper says Poland is unable to spend several hundred million złoty more to train enough pilots, despite the investment in aircraft modernisation.
A similar problem could arise with AH-64E Apache helicopters, for which the military aims to train up to 400 pilots, the report says.
(sp)
Source: PAP