Poland is negotiating with the United States on the acquisition of Lockheed Martin's F-35 stealth multirole fighters, Polish President Andrzej Duda said on Tuesday
WARSAW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 12th March, 2019) Poland is negotiating with the United States on the acquisition of Lockheed Martin's F-35 stealth multirole fighters, Polish President Andrzej Duda said on Tuesday.
"We have already talked with the American side on this issue. We are speaking about F-35 aircraft, just to be clear," Duda told Radio Szczecin.
The Polish leader confirmed reports that emerged in late February after the country's Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak stated that Warsaw was making steps toward procuring 32 fifth generation jets. Since Blaszczak didn't name the aircraft, local media was left with speculation that acquisition of F-35 could be imminent.
Poland is trying to renew its aging air force might with the US fifth-generation combat jets, as its combat aircraft only include Soviet-made Mig-29 and Sukhoi Su-22 fighters, as well as US F-16 jets.
In the meantime, the F-35 program itself has serious problems. Apart from its ambitious price tag, the stealth fighter continues to be plagued by various glitches, including malfunctions in the oxygen-supply system, refueling tubes and even pilot helmets. According to 2017 Pentagon report, the aircraft has hundreds of deficiencies, which range from structural problems to software trouble.
