Poland has ordered 32 F-35A fighters from the US. (Gordon Arthur)
During MSPO 2021, Lockheed Martin announced details related to F-35A manufacturing for the Polish Air Force.
According to J.R McDonald, Lockheed Martin’s VP, business development combat air, manufacturing of the first aircraft for Poland will start in 2022. Delivery of the first F-35 is then scheduled for 2024.
Similar to some other customers, the first eight Polish aircraft will not be delivered to Poland but will initially stay in the US for pilot and technical crew training.
McDonald said they will be based at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona, although other locations are possible. Training for 24 Polish pilots
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The design and development contract is set to run until the end of June and will now enable the partnership to drive the programme forward as it targets its 2027 demonstrator date.
The report comes as heads of industry bodies warn that the delayed defence spending plan has left smaller and medium sized businesses in stasis, unable to plan or seek out further investment.
Norway first scoped the requirement in 2022, and included it in a defence strategy document in 2023. The announcement of a new framework agreement appears to have breathed fresh life into the effort.
The effective use of the Shahed-136 in the Iran war has highlighted the need for countries to acquire a domestically produced, low-cost, long-range loitering munition, with the US, Turkey and European nations all at various stages of developing a similar capability.
The disagreement between French-German industry continues as both governments work to keep the programme alive and on track to develop and deliver a sixth-generation fighter jet.
The USAF is seeking on-the-move systems, subsystems or technologies capable of defending airbases and fixed and semi-fixed sites against small drone attacks.
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