The training is conducted at Ebbing Air Base in Fort Smith, United States. The instructor had earlier finished the basic course and is most likely one of the two first pilots who completed basic training in May this year.
So far, under an intergovernmental LOA agreement with the United States, two groups of Polish pilots have completed basic training. All continue to raise their qualifications towards instructor level.
The entire process is carried out at a training centre established in Ebbing, where Poles are the first foreign users of the facility. Finnish pilots are expected to join them soon.
Lockheed Martin has delivered four F-35A Husarz aircraft to Ebbing for the training programme. Next year, deliveries to an operational squadron, to be formed in Łask, will begin.
In 2027, rearmament of the squadron at the 21st Tactical Air Base in Świdwin is scheduled. In total, Poland has ordered 32 Lockheed Martin F-35A Husarz multirole combat aircraft.
Under the agreement, 24 pilots will be trained, including a significant group to instructor level, which is intended to ensure the creation of national capabilities. It is also not excluded that training services for Polish pilots in the United States will continue.
