Polish F-35 Husarz unveiled
August 28, 2024
The first Polish Air Force F-35A Lightning II was ceremonially rolled out by Lockheed Martin on 28 August, 2024 at Lockheed Martin’s F-35 production facility at Fort Worth in Texas. The ceremony was attended by Paweł Bejda, the Secretary of State at the Ministry of National Defense, Cezary Tomczyk, the Deputy Minister of National Defense, and representatives of the Polish Air Force command staff,
The aircraft rolled out wore low visibility toned down national markings in place of the traditional white-and-red checkerboard markings – a first for the Polish Air Force.
Poland’s F-35 procurement began on 11 September 2019, when the US State Department approved the US $6.5 billion sale of 32 F-35As to replace its aging Soviet-era MiG-29 and Su-22 fleets. A contract was subsequently signed in January 2020. Weapons will include AIM-120C-8 AMRAAM air-to-air missiles, AGM-158B JASSM-ER cruise missiles and probably AIM-9X-2 Sidewinder AAMs and AARGM-ER anti-radiation missiles.
The first Polish F-35A (AZ-01), will be delivered to the Polish Air Force in December but will be based at Ebbing Air National Guard Base, Arkansas, where Poland will be the first international customer to conduct F-35 pilot training.
The first F-35As will arrive at Łask air base in central Poland in 2026, and deliveries will conclude in 2030. This will allow Poland to transfer its remaining MiG-29 aircraft to Ukraine from 2026, Poland’s Defense Minister, Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, has said.
Until now, individual aircraft types were named after birds of prey (eg: Sokol (Falcon), or Jastrzębie (Hawk). in Polish service. But after a public competition, it was decided that the F-35A would be christened ‘Husarz’, paying homage to the legendary Polish ‘winged Hussar’ light cavalry units first formed in the Kingdom of Poland at the beginning of the 16th Century. Lockeed pointed to the iconic ‘wings’ of a Husarz’ armour which, like the F-35A, served to demoralize enemies in battle. The company also pointed to the long lances used, which it compared to the F-35’s advanced sensor suite, which, it said, can identify and defeat threats from afar. Finally, the company compared the Husarz’ speed, precision and tactical innovation with the same qualities embodied in “the world’s most advanced stealth fighter jet.”
Lockheed collaborated with artist/photographer Andrzej Wiktor and attorney Gabriel Olearnik, both native Poles, to bring Poland’s past and present to life together, in a series of striking images.
Major General Ireneusz Nowak, Air Force Inspector said that: “Over more than 100-years of the Polish Air Force, there have been many generations of pilots and aircraft. I am proud to be part of history today, introducing the F-35 as the next generation, which will protect and defend Poland’s future for many years. We are joining a strong coalition of fifth-generation fighters across Europe, strengthening air superiority through allied deterrence.”
Poland has been determined to play its part in NATO, and its latest defence spending proposal would constitute 4.7% of gross domestic product, compared to 4.2% this year, according to Finance Minister Andrzej Domanski.
