Head of the Ministry of National Defense: The first F-35 aircraft will soon enter our air force

This visit came as part of the ongoing Astral Knight 2024 exercises, and US Ambassador Mark Brzezinski also appeared with Deputy Prime Minister Kosniak Kamysh.

Kosiniak-Kamysz noted the technical modernization of Polish aviation. He announced that in August this year, the first of 32 US F-35 multirole aircraft will be officially delivered to the Polish Air Force. However, they will not be in Poland this year – Polish pilots will go to the United States to train in the use of F-35 aircraft, and then as instructors they will train other Polish pilots and technicians working with these machines.

The head of the Ministry of National Defense stated that “the Polish-American alliance is the strongest in history.” “We are proud to have allied aircraft again on Polish soil, and in Polish skies, there are allies with whom we train together,” he said. As he noted, in the exercise alongside American machines, Including the F-35 and F-15 air superiority fighters, there are also F-16s used by both armies and – for the first time – Polish FA-50 light aircraft purchased in South Korea.

“In the face of threats from the East, a rising evil empire, and our alliance and preparations, the readiness of our soldiers and air forces is indispensable,” Kosniak-Kamysh said. He also referred to European cooperation in the field of air and missile defense. “Europe has to exchange its capabilities,” he added. Kociniak-Kamish noted that if national militaries can exchange something that is undeniable, it is air defense – they can access each other’s systems.

In turn, Mark Brzezinski stressed that “Poland is safe on land, sea and air.” The American ambassador said: “After 200 years of struggle, when Americans sacrificed themselves for Polish freedom and Poles for American freedom, today the Polish and American nations share the same freedom, and we are here to defend every square meter of Poland.” He added that the participation of American soldiers and other allied soldiers in the Astral Knight exercise shows how good NATO is.

Astral Knight 2024 is a US Air Forces exercise in Europe taking place from May 6 to 17 in Poland and the Baltics. About 5,000 people participate. Soldiers from six countries and more than 50 aircraft. In addition to the Polish and American Air Forces, pilots from Lithuania and Great Britain are also participating in the exercises, while Denmark and Greece participate as observers.

Poland is awaiting delivery of the first of 32 F-35 aircraft it has ordered – fifth-generation multi-role aircraft, produced since 2006 by the American company Lockheed Martin. They are used and requested by many NATO countries, as well as, for example, Israel, South Korea, Switzerland and Singapore. These aircraft are slowly becoming major combat aircraft for NATO – in Europe, among other countries, to Great Britain, Germany, Finland, Norway, the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, Denmark and the Czech Republic, and in the coming years they will also be in Poland.