Poland advances F‑35 acquisition while F‑16 upgrades lag behind Greece

Poland has ordered 32 Lockheed Martin F‑35 fighter jets, to be designated “Husarz”. The first squadron of 16 aircraft is expected to arrive at the Łask tactical air base in May‑June 2024, with the remaining jets to be delivered to the Świdwin base by 2029. The $4.6 billion contract, signed in early 2020, represents one of Poland’s largest defence purchases, and Polish pilots and technicians have been training in the United States since 2022.

Concurrently, Poland is modernising 47 of its F‑16C/D Block 52+ fighters to the F‑16V “Viper” standard under a $3.8 billion contract. The upgrade programme, slated to begin serial production in 2028, will see the first two aircraft retrofitted in the United States and delivered to the Bydgoszcz Military Aircraft Plant by 2029, with full fleet completion expected in 2038. This timeline is considerably slower than Greece’s programme, which began in 2022 and aims to upgrade 84 F‑16s by 2027, with the first 50 modernised aircraft already delivered in April 2026.