Poland plans to purchase two more squadrons of new fighters to strengthen its own air force. And this is after the country is purchasing new A330 MRTT flying tankers and resolving transfer of its old MiG-29s to Ukraine.
Polish Air Force Major General Ireneusz Nowak spoke about the priority regarding additional aircraft in an interview with Defence24. According to him, the new platform should have good firepower, achieve air superiority, and also conduct electronic warfare.
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Also expressed is a desire for greater involvement of Polish defense industry in new fighters, at minimum at the maintenance level. Currently, the military has already familiarized itself with F-15EX, F-16 Block 70, Eurofighter, KF-21 Boramae and F-35.
Defense Express notes that this is quite an interesting set of modern combat aircraft, which omits such European options as Gripen or Rafale. At the same time, there are such exotic things as the South Korean KF-21, which is only being prepared for serial production, and American F-15EX, which still hasn't achieved full combat capability in the U.S. and has limited production.
Overall, Poland is actively building up its military capabilities and although much attention is paid to ground capabilities, they don't forget about aviation either. For the latter, they recently decided to order Airbus A330 MRTT tanker aircraft with SAFE funds from the EU.
Currently, delivery of first Polish F-35s is expected, training of personnel for which is now being carried out in the U.S. Regarding transfer of old MiG-29s to Ukraine, South Korean FA-50s are being purchased to replace them, which initially act as training-combat aircraft, but should receive capabilities for full air combat, albeit with significant delays.
However, expansion of Poland's Armed Forces numbers means a need for additional fighters as well. Thus, the country has been gradually familiarizing itself with possible market options for some time.
A popular opinion is additional F-16s or F-35s, because they are already used in the air force. However, with the desire for localization and additional bonuses, Poles are actively considering other options, including quite exotic F-15EX or completely new South Korean KF-21 Boramae.
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