Poland To Purchase 32 F-35A Lightning IIs

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https://www.reuters.com/article/us-pola ... SKCN1SY0NQ

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https://www.defensenews.com/global/euro ... ster-says/

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Poland signed contract for 32 F-35A Lighning II fighter aircraft

In addition to Scramble Magazine Facebook News item from yesterday (*), the Polish Minister of Defence (MoD), ‎Mariusz Błaszczak‎, signed the contract for the F-35A procurement in Deblin today, Friday 31 January 2020. In the press conference, more details were revealed in relation to the delivery schedule, which is slightly different from the one we presented on Thursday.

Delivery of the first six aircraft is scheduled to start in 2024 and continue in 2025. These six aircraft will be delivered be based at Luke AFB (AZ) for training of air crews and ground crews. The first aircraft in Poland is expected to arrive in the 2025-2026 time frame, with the Initial Operating Capability (IOC) scheduled for 2028. After the first six aircraft, four to six Lightnings will be delivered each year, with the final ones scheduled for 2030.

The F-35A Lightning IIs will all be equipped with the latest Block 4 software. The signed agreement also includes a modernization package that envisages that upgrades introduced later on would be implemented on the aircraft delivered before those upgrades. According to the information given today, the Polish aircraft will be equipped with drogue chutes. The value of the contract, covered completely by the MoD's budget, is still reported as USD 4.6 billion, to be paid to the USA between 2020 and 2030.

To give some extra attention to the official signing of the contract, two Aeronautica Militare (AMI, Italian Air Force) F-35A Lightning IIs flew to Deblin (Poland). Original "reports" mentioned that two Koninklijke Luchtmach (KLu, Royal Netherlands Air Force) F-35As would attend the ceremony.

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