First F-35 for Poland makes maiden flight

The first F-35 for Poland departs on its maiden flight on 2 December. (Polish MND)

The first of 32 Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) aircraft for Poland made its maiden flight on 2 December.

The milestone out of the Fort Worth production facility in Texas involved a Lockheed Martin pilot at the controls of aircraft tail number 3502 (factory number AZ-02), and took place weeks after it was officially received by the Polish Ministry of National Defence (MND) at the same location in early August.

Following flight trials, 3502 will be delivered along with 3501 (AZ-01) to Ebbing Air National Guard Base in Arkansas for pilot training. The first Polish pilot will fly in January 2025, ahead of the type being delivered to the 32nd Tactical Air Base in Łask, central Poland.

Poland signed a contract with the United States government for 32 F-35As in January 2020, with deliveries to run from 2024 to 2030 as the country phases out its Warsaw Pact-era MiG-29 ‘Fulcrum' fighters.

The MND recently assigned the name Husarz to the F-35A in national service, which translates in English to Hussar. The MND also said that the country's F-35As will receive low-visibility greyed-out checkerboard markings in place of the traditional red and white checkerboard. This will be a first for the Polish Armed Forces and has been decided to fully preserve the aircraft's low observability characteristics.