Poland making steps towards procuring 32 F-35 fifth generation jets.

During a press conference, the head of the Polish MoD, Mariusz Błaszczak, placed a major emphasis on acquisition of the new fighter aircraft for the Polish Air Force. Błaszczak announced he signed a military modernization plan document under which the country will spend 185 billion zloty (U.S. $49 billion) on new weapons and military equipment by 2026. The acquisition of 32 fifth-generation fighter jets is one of the priority procurements that are to be carried out under the program, the minister said.

F-35A (Picture source: Air Recognition)

Błaszczak suggested that, within the framework of the newly adopted technical modernization plan, Harpia program is a priority. The Polish official pointed out the role that 5th generation airframes play in the structure of the modern military – they act as a force multiplier. And this has been the role assigned to them by Błaszczak during his speech – the new jets are to complement the F-16s. This 5-generation aircraft is probably the Lockheed Martin’s latest platform, the only one available on the market for now.

Other air-domain programs pursued and defined by the Polish MoD include: Kruk program (Raven; procurement of attack helicopters for the land forces, in order to replace the Mi-24 Hinds); Gryf (Griffin; Medium endurance UAVs); Ważka (Dragonfly; micro-UAVs for urban reconnaissance); Płomykówka (Barn Owl; IMINT/RADINT/SIGINT aircraft).