Poland confirms its Air Force will have two more squadrons of F-35A Husarz fighter jets

A few weeks ago Poland received its first F-35A fighter jets, called "Husarz" (Hussar) in that country.

The arrival of the first three Polish F-35A fighter in Poland with their insignia covered
The first flights of Polish pilots on F-35A Husarz fighters acquired by Poland

In 2000, Poland purchased 32 F-35A fighter jets from the United States for $4.6 billion. As we saw here on May 23, the aircraft will be divided into two squadrons of 16 planes each. The first will be based at the 32nd Tactical Air Base in Łask, and the second at the 21st Tactical Air Base in Świdwin.

The first Polish F-35As flew over several Polish cities today, in an event called "Welcome to Poland". Two F-35s and two F-16s took off from Łask Air Base. The first city flown over was Gdańsk, with the aircraft flying over the Monument to the Heroes of Westerplatte (the site where World War II began), at around 9:45 a.m. They then flew over Warsaw, Krakow, and Łódź, before finally returning to Łask Air Base.

The official ceremony for the commissioning of the first F-35As into the Polish Air Force was held in Łask, an event that featured two godmothers: Paulina Kosiniak-Kamysz, wife of the Minister of National Defense, and Captain Magdalena Boryc-Krakowian, widow of Lieutenant Colonel Maciej Krakowian, who died on August 28, 2025, when his fighter jet crashed F-16, who attended the event accompanied by her two children, dressed in flight suits.

Following Polish traditions, three military chaplains participated in the ceremony to bless the new aircraft. One of them, addressing God, stated, "We entrust all the pilots to you." The full video of the broadcast of this event can be viewed here.

The event was attended by the President of the Republic, Karol Nawrocki, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defense, Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, and General Wiesław Kukuła, Chief of Staff of the Polish Armed Forces.

Kosiniak-Kamysz announced that Poland will purchase two more squadrons of F-35s, a total of 32 additional aircraft, as part of the Armed Forces Development Program for the period 2025-2039. Thus, the Polish F-35 fleet will total 64 aircraft.

Poland expects to receive a total of 14 F-35s in 2026 and another 12 next year. With the second batch, Poland will become one of the largest European operators of this aircraft. To date, the largest European fleet of F-35s belongs to the United Kingdom, with 138 fighters acquired (one of them, an F-35B, was lost in an accident on November 17, 2021). Italy has ordered 90 aircraft and Finland 64, the same number as Poland.

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Photos: Ministerstwo Obrony Narodowej / Polska Zbrojna.