Stealth Jets Over Warsaw: Poland Signs $4.6 Billion Deal for 32 American F-35A Stealth Fighters

On January 31st Poland signed a $4.6 billion deal to acquire 32 Lockheed Martin F-35A fifth generation multirole stealth fighters from the United States, making the country one of the first clients for the aircraft outside the program’s partner nations - alongside Singapore, South Korea, Israel, Japan and Belgium. Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak signed the deal at a ceremony with U.S. envoy to Poland Georgette Mosbacher, calling it one of the biggest deals in the history of the country’s armed forces. The fighters are set to be delivered between 2024 and 2030, with the contract also including training, logistics, simulators and munitions.

Under the contract Poland will pay approximately $144 million per fighter - with the cost of F-35s for export clients notably higher than those for the U.S. Military itself. While the F-35A is a very new fighter, entering service in the U.S. Air Force in 2015 and still far from fully operational, it costs only 17%  more per aircraft than the F-16V - a jet marketed to lower level American defence clients such as Bahrain, Slovakia and Taiwan for around $123 million each. The F-16V is a modernised derivative of a fourth generation design which has been in service for over 40 years old, and while cheaper to maintain its combat capabilities are far inferior to the newer F-35 - with a smaller less powerful radar and engine, weaker electronic warfare systems and a lack of infra red sensors and stealth capabilities. With the F-16V having been Poland’s leading alternative to the F-35A for fleet modernisation, purchasing the stealth fighters may be the more cost effective option.

Poland currently operates three classes of fighter, including Su-22M4/M3K strike fighters and MiG-29A and F-16C multirole fighters - all fourth generation platforms. The F-35A is reportedly intended to phase the MiG-29 out of service, and followup purchases may eventually be made to phase out the Su-22M. Upgrades for the existing F-16 fleet to bring them up to the F-16V's ‘4+ generation’ standard are also reportedly under consideration. Warsaw appears to be planning a number of ambitious weapons programs, including a contract for over $8 billion to acquire several hundred K2 Black Panther fourth generation battle tanks - widely considered the most capable tanks in the world. Poland has also sought to host a larger U.S. Military presence on its territory, and American military facilities in the country are set to be expanded considerably.