The first flights of Polish pilots on F-35A Husarz fighters acquired by Poland

The incorporation of the F-35A stealth fighter into the Polish Air Force continues to take new steps in the United States.

The arrival of Poland's first two F-35A Husarz stealth fighters at Ebbing Air Base
Lockheed Martin presents the F-35A Husarz, the new winged hussar of the Polish Air Force

On January 31, a Polish pilot took part in his first flight at the controls of the Husarz, the nickname assigned by the Polish Air Force to its F-35As. The training of the first Polish F-35A pilots is currently taking place at Ebbing Air National Guard Base, Arkansas. As you may recall, the first two F-35A Husarz arrived at that base on December 23, identified by the numerals 3501 and 3502.

On February 1, the Polish Ministry of Defense published an interesting video showing American instructors of the first Polish F-35A pilots, although significantly the faces of the Polish pilots are not shown at any point (it seems that the matter is being handled with great secrecy):

On February 1, the Polish military daily Polska Zbrojna reported that the first flight by a Polish pilot in an F-35A took place on Friday at around 10 p.m. Polish time: "The training flight was conducted with the help of two aircraft in pursuit formation, allowing the American instructor flying behind the Pole to check the correctness of the maneuvers."

Currently, four Polish pilots are training at Ebbing, two of them still on simulators, according to Polska Zbrojna. According to Polish Air Force inspector at the General Command Ireneusz Nowak, the plan is for the F-35 fighter pilots to be fully trained as early as April. The first F-35As are scheduled to arrive in Poland in 2026. The entire fleet of 32 fighters purchased by Poland will be completed by 2030. The aircraft will operate from the 32nd Tactical Air Base in Łask and the 21st Tactical Air Base in Świdwin.

Polska Zbrojna has noted that the training of personnel in charge of the Polish Air Force's F-35As includes 24 pilots and approximately 90 technicians at US centers. In addition, regarding the weapons that these fighters will use, the Polish military daily has noted that Poland has purchased 200 AGM-88G AARGM-ER HARM anti-radar missiles "that find, target and destroy enemy air and missile defense systems".

The photos in this post were taken by Senior Sergeant Rafal Samluk on January 31, the day of the first flight of a Polish pilot in the F-35A, and were posted the next day on the Flickr account of the Polish Ministry of National Defence. In addition to the aforementioned fighters with numbers 3501 and 3502, a third aircraft, the 3503, can be seen in the photos. More photos from this series can be found here.

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Photos: Ministerstwo Obrony Narodowej / St. Sierż. Rafał Samluk.