The aircraft carried tactical numbers 3509, 3510 and 3511. Their ferry flight to Poland was conducted by U.S. contract pilots, a standard delivery procedure, and supported by U.S. Air Force aerial refuelling aircraft.
During the transfer, the aircraft temporarily carried U.S. national markings in line with formal requirements. After entering Polish airspace, the F-35As were welcomed and escorted by a pair of Polish F-16C/D fighters.
Nowi strażnicy polskiego nieba! 🇵🇱 pic.twitter.com/4tVOW6t9NB
— Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz (@KosiniakKamysz) May 22, 2026
One of the escorting aircraft was flown by Maj. Gen. Ireneusz Nowak, Deputy Commander of the Polish Armed Forces. After landing and taxiing at Łask, the three F-35A Husarz aircraft were greeted with a traditional water salute.
“This is an important milestone that truly changes the operational capabilities of the entire Polish Armed Forces. […] It also changes the security of the whole region,” said Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, Poland’s deputy prime minister and minister of national defence, during the arrival ceremony.
“[Polish] F-35s, the first fifth-generation aircraft on NATO’s eastern flank, also change the security of the entire region. […] All of this builds a new security architecture, with vectors on the eastern flank directed north towards Sweden and south towards Turkey, which for our government is an absolute priority today,” Kosiniak-Kamysz added.
Poland ordered 32 F-35A Husarz aircraft through an intergovernmental Letter of Offer and Acceptance. The first eight aircraft are currently stationed at Ebbing Air Force Base in Fort Smith in the United States, where they are used for training Polish Air Force pilots and personnel.
Those aircraft have flown more than 1,000 hours over 18 months. The three aircraft delivered to Poland were assembled on Lockheed Martin’s production line in Fort Worth, Texas, where half of Poland’s ordered aircraft will be built.
The remaining 16 aircraft are expected to be delivered from the European production line in Italy. By the end of this year, another 11 F-35A aircraft are expected to arrive at Łask.
Kosiniak-Kamysz said training of pilots and maintenance personnel responsible for the F-35A is continuing in both the United States and Poland. In 2027, the Polish Air Force is expected to receive another 12 aircraft, while the final ordered aircraft, the 32nd Husarz, is due to arrive in Poland in 2029.
The 32 F-35A Husarz aircraft are planned to equip two tactical aviation squadrons. The first will be based at Łask, where the expansion and modernisation of ground infrastructure has been completed, while the second will be stationed at the 21st Tactical Air Base in Świdwin, where construction work is under way.
The expansion of Łask began in 2022 and included more than a dozen investment projects. These covered an operations centre, a maintenance and repair centre, energy, water, sewage and fuel infrastructure, and security zones.
The work at Łask was completed in November 2025. In March 2026, the base received U.S. Armed Forces accreditation confirming that it meets requirements for technical servicing and information security.
According to Kosiniak-Kamysz, the total cost of the infrastructure investment at Łask was 2.5 billion zlotys. Poland may decide in future to buy more F-35A Husarz aircraft, which could allow the formation of a third or even fourth squadron.
