The first Polish Air Force F-35A jet, designated AZ-01, was officially unveiled during a rollout ceremony at the Lockheed Martin plant in Fort Worth, Texas. The event was attended by high-ranking Polish officials. It was noted that the initial aircraft will be stationed at Ebbing Air National Guard Base in Arkansas, where Polish pilots will undergo training and preparation. The first F-35 jets are expected to arrive in Poland in 2026, with the remaining aircraft to be delivered by 2030.
The Polish Air Force’s F-35 jets do not feature the traditional white and red checkerboard markings; instead, they have adopted a more subdued version of the emblem. This is a significant change, as all Polish Air Force aircraft have traditionally carried the white and red markings, even after the Su-22 and MiG-29 were repainted in new grey camouflage. Previously, the low-visibility emblem was only used on the W-3 Sokół helicopter, which belongs to the Polish special forces unit JW2305 GROM.
Polish Armed Forces Chief of Staff, General Wiesław Kukuła, announced on Twitter that the traditional white and red checkerboard will not appear on Polish F-35 jets. The gray color is intended to enhance the aircraft’s stealth capabilities, despite the fact that nearly all other F-35 operators have opted for multicolored markings and national flags.
On September 11, 2019, the U.S. Department of State approved the sale of 32 fifth-generation F-35 fighter jets to Poland for $6.5 billion. Poland chose the F-35A CTOL (Conventional Take-Off and Landing) variant to replace its aging fleet of Soviet-era MiG-29 and Su-22 aircraft. The contract for the purchase of the 32 fifth-generation jets was signed in January of the following year.
Along with the aircraft, Poland acquired various weapon systems for the F-35, including AIM-120C-8 AMRAAM air-to-air missiles and “several hundred” AGM-158B JASSM-ER cruise missiles. Additionally, the U.S. State Department and Congress approved further purchases of AIM-9X-2 Sidewinder missiles and AARGM-ER missiles.
After the Polish Armed Forces acquired the F-35 jets, the General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces announced a contest to name the new fighters. The name “Husarz” was chosen as the result of the vote. As previously mentioned, the first Polish F-35As will be used for training in the United States, with the new aircraft only being deployed in Poland in 2026. This implies that Warsaw will not be able to transfer the remaining MiG-29 jets to Ukraine before 2026, as stated by Poland’s Minister of Defense, Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz.
Source: theaviationist
