F-35 orders for Greece, Romania, and Poland

[jakobs]

While, I see Poland possibly even Greece as likely F-35 Customers. I have a hard time believing Romania could afford the F-35. At least in the near future...

I don't see any issues with Romania funding F-35 if they want it, they have shown in recent years that they are taking defence serious. I do however think they will prioritise other programs first, such as new corvettes and the program to buy Patriot.

[marsavian]

You only need to buy a handful of F-35 to make a radical difference to your air force, you don't need to go all in at first. Six to twelve F-35 to act as forward controllers and EW growlers for the rest of your 3/4th gen fighters could tip the balance. That's the beauty of this stealthy heavily networked aircraft, every one makes a difference greater than its own individual ability.

[zerion]

Long article best read there

Looks Like Poland Wants To Replace Its Soviet-era MiG-29 And Su-22 Jets With The F-35 At Any Cost

Is Poland Getting the F-35 in its Harpia Program?

In early April, Vice-Admiral Mathias Winter, representing the US DoD, suggested, at the House of Representatives, that the US is considering selling the F-35 to five allied nations: Poland, Romania, Greece, Spain and Singapore. Back in February, on the other hand, the head of the Polish MoD signed the so called Technical Modernization Plan document, outlining the priorities that shall be addressed over the course of the modernization process. Given that during the presentation of the plan Błaszczak suggested the procurement of 32 fifth generation fighters is a priority, he was probably referring to acquisition of the F-35 – no other true 5-generation aircraft is currently available on the market...

https://theaviationist.com/2019/04/20/l ... -any-cost/

[mixelflick]

Good for them, the Poles deserve it.

They've integrated well into NATO, and have shown proficiency with the F-16/LM products. Having even a dozen would be a very credible deterrent, and most importantly - up LM's stock price

[charlielima223]

The article states...

What’s interesting, the pilots that we have talked to tend to suggest that the F-15X would be a better choice for the Polish Air Force.

I am genuinely interesting to hear/read those pilots opinions on the matter. It would seem for the USAF, upper echelons of command prefer not to have the F-15X and the pilots seem for the most part to either agree or not have a strong opinion one way or the other.
I think Poland having the F-35 is a good thing. For one, Poland is a very active military member of NATO and that they take the threat of Russia to be very serious both militarily and politically. Should Poland acquire 32 F-35s, they would have an air force that is more capable then their German counterparts and it symbolically (for them) be a giant "F-you" to Russia.

[Corsair1963]

The article states...

What’s interesting, the pilots that we have talked to tend to suggest that the F-15X would be a better choice for the Polish Air Force.

I am genuinely interesting to hear/read those pilots opinions on the matter. It would seem for the USAF, upper echelons of command prefer not to have the F-15X and the pilots seem for the most part to either agree or not have a strong opinion one way or the other.
I think Poland having the F-35 is a good thing. For one, Poland is a very active military member of NATO and that they take the threat of Russia to be very serious both militarily and politically. Should Poland acquire 32 F-35s, they would have an air force that is more capable then their German counterparts and it symbolically (for them) be a giant "F-you" to Russia.

Doesn't give any specifics on the pilots??? Which, makes them highly questionable. In addition the Polish Air Force Leadership is so impressed with the F-35. That it's the sole source for their next fighter.....(speaks volumes)

[Corsair1963]

While, I see Poland possibly even Greece as likely F-35 Customers. I have a hard time believing Romania could afford the F-35. At least in the near future...

I don't see any issues with Romania funding F-35 if they want it, they have shown in recent years that they are taking defence serious. I do however think they will prioritise other programs first, such as new corvettes and the program to buy Patriot.

QUOTE: Romania will buy five more F-16 aircraft from Portugal and the acquisition procedure could be completed this year, according to Romanian defense minister Gabriel Les.

Romania bought 12 F-16 multirole aircraft from Portugal in 2013 and will buy five more to have a complete squadron of 17 fighters, the minister also said, local Radio Europa Libera Romania reported. The five F-16s will be second-hand, modernized in Portugal.


Commenting on the news that the U.S. is considering selling F-35 fighters to five new nations, including Romania, Gabriel Les said that, at the moment, this would be “a bit too much” for Romania.

https://www.romania-insider.com/index.p ... 6-portugal

[zerion]

Polish defense minister: F-35 acquisition ‘not far away’

WARSAW, Poland — Polish Defence Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said April 29 that the Polish government aimed to sign a deal to station U.S. troops in Poland this year, and a contract to purchase F-35 fighter jets was “not far away” from being signed.

Blaszczak’s announcement in an interview with local broadcaster TVP indicates that Warsaw could aim to negotiate on the potential troop deployment in parallel with the aircraft acquisition. Poland has pitched for the United States to build a permanent military base in the country, offering to pay at least $2 billion toward the project, dubbed “Fort Trump.”

On April 25, during her visit to Warsaw, Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson said that a U.S. Air Force team was to be sent to Poland in May to demonstrate the capabilities of the F-35 to Polish defence ministry officials, as reported by local news agency PAP.

Last February, Blaszczak said the planned acquisition of 32 fifth-generation aircraft would be carried out as part of the country’s military modernization program. Under the initiative, Warsaw aims to spend 185 billion zloty ($48.5 billion) on new weapons and equipment by 2026...

https://www.defensenews.com/global/euro ... -far-away/

[XanderCrews]

The article states...

What’s interesting, the pilots that we have talked to tend to suggest that the F-15X would be a better choice for the Polish Air Force.

"It WoNt HuRt Or CoMpEtE AgAiNsT F-35, GuYZ"

[Corsair1963]

They should have pushed the F-15EX to Taiwan if anybody.........

[jurryaany]

US delegation scheduled to brief Polish officials on F-35 later in May.

A U.S. delegation is scheduled to brief Polish defense officials eager to buy the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter later this month, U.S. Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson said Monday.

https://www.defenseone.com/business/201 ... 35/156971/

[spazsinbad]

US delegation scheduled to brief Polish officials on F-35 later in May.

A U.S. delegation is scheduled to brief Polish defense officials eager to buy the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter later this month, U.S. Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson said Monday.

https://www.defenseone.com/business/201 ... 35/156971/

What a shame we have TWO threads to POLISH. Oh well - dems de brakes.

New player on the board? Poland wants the F-35 too.

viewtopic.php?f=58&t=7839&p=419436&hilit=Weisgerber#p419436

[krieger22]

Poland has just announced plans to buy two squadrons of F-35s. http://uawire.org/poland-to-buy-f-35-fi ... rom-the-us

Polish Deputy Minister of Defense Wojciech Skurkiewicz revealed plans to purchase two batches of American F-35 fighters.

According to him, the first aircraft will enter the service of the Polish army by2026. The Minister called this decision a turning point and crucial for the Polish Air Force.

"This is a crucial decision that will raise our Air Force to a higher level. The first squadron of F-35 aircraft will be purchased by 2026, the second squadron - after 2026," — the PAP Agency quotes the Deputy Minister.

[madrat]

The Poles were not backwards as a military until socialists thwarted her stepping into the 20th century prior to World War 2.

Its safe to say they've learned a hard lesson and do not want to repeat history.

[krieger22]

https://twitter.com/mblaszczak/status/1 ... 40608?s=21

The Polish Defense Minister has stated that they have sent a request for quotation regarding the purchase of 32 F-35As along with a logistics and training package