The Lockheed Martin Corp. presented Poland with its first F-35 aircraft at a ceremony on Wednesday in Fort Worth.
The transfer of ownership, held in Lockheed’s coatings facility, was attended by company executives, Polish and American dignitaries, parliamentarians, defense officials from the U.S. and Poland, and dozens of Polish journalists and soldiers.
A member of NATO and the European Union, Poland agreed to a roughly $4.6 billion deal with the United States for 32 fifth-generation F-35A Lightning II aircraft in January 2020. Lockheed expects to deliver the dozens of aircraft to Poland over the next decade.
Speakers at Wednesday’s event addressed Lockheed’s role as a pillar of Fort Worth’s economy.
“My family literally still lives just a few minutes away from here, and I’ve watched planes fly around this plant literally my entire life, and I consider this facility like a member of my family.,” said U.S. Rep. Marc Veasey, a Democrat from Fort Worth, at Wednesday’s event.
Lockheed employs about 18,000 people in Fort Worth. The company has a $9 billion economic impact on Texas each year. Chief Operating Officer Frank St. John said Lockheed has about 2,000 employees in Poland.
Polish and American dignitaries highlighted the strong alliance between the United States and Poland.
“Our F-35 globalization is a powerful testament that our military alignment is not just a photo-op, but shows true synchronicity between our nations,” said the U.S. ambassador to Poland, Mark Brzezinski.
Officials also spoke on the importance of the F-35 in deterring future conflicts and keeping NATO borders unchanged.
“I am proud to be part of history today, introducing the F-35 as the next generation, which will protect and defend Poland’s future for many years,” said Maj. Gen. Ireneusz Nowak, inspector of the Polish Air Force, in a statement. “We are joining a strong coalition of 5th generation fighters across Europe, bolstering air superiority through allied deterrence.”
Polish pilots will start training to fly the F-35 at Ebbing Air National Guard Base in Fort Smith, Arkansas, later this year. Poland’s first F-35 will be delivered to the Polish Air Force in December, at which time it will be used for training in Arkansas. The Polish Ministry of National Defence already uses Lockheed’s F-16 jet and Black Hawk helicopters.
Wednesday’s event was the 11th F-35 rollout in the program’s history. Considered one of the most advanced fighter jets in the world, F-35s operate at 32 bases across the globe. Lockheed has delivered over 1,000 F-35s, according to the company.
Lockheed began delivering F-35s with Technology Refresh 3 to the U.S. military in July, after months of delays stalled delivery of aircraft with the long-awaited hardware and software update. F-35s with TR3 currently have a “truncated” version of the update to be used only for training. A software update to complete TR3, and make the aircraft combat-ready, is expected in 2025.
A report released by the Government Accountability Office in April estimated the cost of the F-35 program will exceed $2 trillion over the course of its lifetime.
Branches of the U.S. military that fly the F-35 plan to decrease use of the aircraft, though the Department of Defense estimates using the F-35 until 2088. The U.S. maintains roughly 630 F-35s, with plans to acquire about 2,500 in the next two decades.
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