For the first time, F-35 Lightning II stealth aircraft landed in Poland.
Four F-35As (15-5200, 17-5239, 17-5245, 17-5251) flying from Spangdahlem, accompanied by two F-15Es and C-130Js landed at the Polish Powidz Airbase on Jul. 16, 2019, around 13.00LT.
They spent around an hour at the Powidz AB: the visit took place within the framework of Operation ‘Rapid Forge’ and its objective was to conduct refueling and re-arming operations using inert munitions. The operation takes place simultaneously in Poland, Lithuania and Estonia.
The F-35s visiting Powidz belong to 388th and 419th Fighter Wings based at the Hill Air Force Base, UT, while the F-15Es were from the 4th FW out of Seymour Johnson AFB, NC. Both are currently deployed to Spangdahlem, Germany.
What’s interesting, the Seymour-Johnson Strike Eagles accompanying the Lightnings also carried the AN/ASQ-236 “Dragon’s Eye” Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar pods on their centerline stations.
This was also the first time that the F-35 Lightning II landed in Poland. Along with the operational purpose of the deployment, the visit may also had some marketing goals, given Poland’s Harpia program, that sees the F-35 among the candidates (actually, the favorite one) for the replacement of the Polish Air Force’s legacy Fulcrums and Fitters.
Powidz Airbase is becoming a regular stopover for U.S. assets in eastern Europe: notably, while it was the first time an F-35 landed there, it was not the first time a 5th generation fighter aircraft paid visit to Powidz: The remote airbase near the city of Gniezno hosted F-22A Raptors in the past (last year, during the Polish Military’s parade on 15th August, in Warsaw).
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The aircraft landing in Powidz were carrying external outer wing pylons.
USAF currently has 421st Fighter Squadron’s F-35As deployed to Europe as a part of the European Theater Security Package that kicked off in Aviano AB in May. The 12 Joint Strike Fighters moved to Spangdahlem AB, Germany, in June.
