First Three Polish F-35A "Husarz" Land at Łask; NATO Eastern Flank Acquires Fifth-Generation Combat Capability
Łask, 22 May 2026
Key points
- First three Polish F-35A Husarz aircraft (tactical numbers 3509, 3510, 3511) arrived at the 32nd Tactical Air Base at Łask at approximately 18:20 local time on 22 May, ferried from Lockheed Martin Fort Worth via Lajes Air Base (Azores) with US Air Force KC-46A Pegasus tanker support
- Polish Air Force becomes the first NATO eastern-flank operator of a fifth-generation combat aircraft; 14 aircraft on station at Łask by end-2026; full 32-aircraft fleet by 2030 under the 31 January 2020 $4.6 billion contract with Lockheed Martin
- Replaces Soviet-era MiG-29 and Su-22 fleet; second tactical squadron to follow at the 21st Tactical Air Base Świdwin, where infrastructure construction continues
The first three F-35A Husarz aircraft of Poland's 32-aircraft order arrived at the 32nd Tactical Air Base at Łask at approximately 18:20 local time on 22 May, ferried from Lockheed Martin's Fort Worth production facility via Lajes Air Base in the Azores with US Air Force KC-46A Pegasus tanker support — making the Polish Air Force the first NATO eastern-flank operator of a fifth-generation combat aircraft.
Tactical numbers 3509, 3510 and 3511 entered Polish airspace under escort by a pair of Polish F-16C/D fighters. Deputy Prime Minister and National Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz received the delivery as the first material increment under the 31 January 2020 $4.6 billion contract with Lockheed Martin for 32 F-35A aircraft. Łask is being equipped for 14 aircraft on station by end-2026; the second tactical squadron is scheduled for the 21st Tactical Air Base at Świdwin, where infrastructure construction continues. Full delivery completes by 2030.
The Husarz aircraft replace the Polish Air Force's legacy Soviet-era MiG-29 and Su-22 fleet, completing a generational transition that began with the F-16C/D Block 52+ programme of the mid-2000s. Polish fifth-generation operational capability sits inside the broader land- and air-domain rebuild Warsaw has been executing through 2024–2026, including the Korean K2 main battle tank deliveries, the Apache attack helicopter order, and the East Shield Tarcza Wschód border-fortification programme.
The first-of-fifth-generation framing is the political ratchet that registers at NATO summits and inside the Atlantic Resolve debate. The delivery lands in the same week as Donald Trump's Truth Social commitment to 5,000 additional US troops for Poland and inside the Helsingborg NAC "credible path to 5%" closing read-out — a sequence that places Warsaw at the visible centre of NATO eastern-flank capability formation against the multi-year US drawdown trajectory. A transition first surfaced in Signal No. 67.
Sources: Polish Ministry of National Defence, Polish Air Force, Lockheed Martin, United States Air Force.
First reported in Signal No. 67, 25 May 2026.