The Polish Air Force is getting closer to receiving its first F-35A stealth fighter. This is reported in a series of publications issued by Lockheed Martin where the firm has confirmed the start of final assembly of the first fifth-generation aircraft.. The news coincides with the recent announcement of the official name that the Polish F-35 will receive. Designated as Husarzthe new aircraft thus pay tribute to the legendary Polish heavy cavalry unit called the Winged Hussars that fought in key battles in European history such as the siege of Vienna.
Returning to the present, through photographs and videos viralized on social networks by Lockheed Martin and organizations associated with the F-35 program, they reported on the progress in the manufacture of the first copy destined to be delivered this year to the Air Force of Poland. Named AZ-01, the aircraft has entered the final assembly stage at the Fort Worth, Texas, facility.
Following what was communicated yesterday, April 29, Lockheed Martin reported that: “The Polish Air Force’s first F-35 aircraft was lifted by an overhead crane earlier this month from an electronic assembly station, where the forward and rear fuselage sections were attached to the center fuselage and wing assembly. The aircraft will now travel to final assembly, where its control surfaces will be added, along with final installation of systems and engines”.
The AZ-01 is the first of a total of 32 fifth-generation fighters that will be manufactured by Lockheed Martin to equip the Polish Air Force. Thanks to the agreement reached with the United States worth US$6,500, it will allow the European country to complete the replacement of its aging MiG-29 and Sukhoi Su-22 fighter-bombers. Although no mention was made in the announcements made yesterday, Poland’s F-35As are intended to be delivered already carrying the latest configuration and upgrade of the fighter called TR-3 (Technology Refresh 3)not reporting whether the delays recorded have also affected this batch of aircraft.
If there are no new developments, it is expected that the first F-35ª will be delivered during the course of the current year to the Polish authorities. For now, in addition to the aforementioned combat aircraft, the Polish government and air force are also advancing in the acquisition of weapons consisting of air-to-air missiles of various types and guided munitions. The latest news in this regard was the authorization issued by the State Department for the possible sale of 360 AARGM-ER anti-radiation missiles; which is added to previous authorizations for JASSM-ER, AIM-120C-8 and AIM-9X missiles.
*Photographs: Lockheed Martin.
You may be interested The Polish Armed Forces received a new batch of K2 Black Panther tanks from South Korea
