‘Written in our DNA’: Polish pilots who remember Soviet rule prepare for America’s most lethal fighter jet

LASK, Poland — Poland is expected to receive its first F-35 fighter jets “very, very soon”, Polish Deputy Defense Minister Paweł Zalewski told Fox News Digital, as American and Polish forces prepare together at a key NATO air base near the alliance’s eastern flank.

Fox News Digital received exclusive access to Poland’s 32nd Tactical Air Base in Lask, where commanders pointed to the hangars being prepared for the arrival of the U.S.- made fifth-generation aircraft, part of Poland’s $4.6 billion purchase of 32 F-35s from Lockheed Martin.

The jets have not arrived yet, but the partnership behind them already has.

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Polish and American personnel train, operate and in some cases are stationed together on the base, reflecting the unusually close military relationship between Warsaw and Washington at a time when NATO burden-sharing remains under political scrutiny.

Lt. Col. Pete Nanoslawski, commander of the 52nd Operations Group Detachment 1 of the U.S. Air Force, originally from New York and stationed in Poland for the past five years, told Fox News Digital that Poland’s military modernization has significantly deepened cooperation between the two militaries.

“We are experiencing incredible support from Polish-provided logistics support and Polish-provided infrastructure,” Nanoslawski said while standing alongside Polish commanders on the base.

He said Poland’s investment in American military systems and joint operations reflects how seriously Warsaw views threats from Russia. “Their foreign military sales portfolio is an appetite that’s insatiable, and rightfully so.”

The close relationship between the two militaries was visible throughout the visit. As Polish commanders spoke about cooperation with the United States, they frequently turned toward their American counterparts with familiarity that went beyond formal alliance language.

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“We speak the same language, only with different accents,” Col. Krzysztof Duda, pilot and commander of the 32nd Tactical Air Base in Lask, told Fox News Digital.

Duda, who studied in the United States and attended the U.S. Air War College, described himself as “a child of the American education system.”

“The marriage we have with the U.S. on the military level, even if you want to divorce, we would not,” Duda said with a smile,”But we don’t want the divorce.”

Nanoslawski added that the American presence in Poland provides “enhanced forward presence and the ability to maneuver and adjust rapidly.”

The partnership is now entering a new phase with the integration of the U.S.-made F-35 into Poland’s air force fleet.

Poland signed a $4.6 billion agreement in 2020 to purchase 32 F-35A fighter jets manufactured by Lockheed Martin.

Duda, who is overseeing the implementation process at Lask, said the transition involves years of training, infrastructure upgrades and coordination with the United States.

Training to become an F-35 pilot is not just a long process, it’s an expensive one too — Duda estimates that it costs around $55 million per pilot.

The base itself has undergone extensive modernization to prepare for the aircraft, including new operational infrastructure, maintenance systems and classified facilities required under American certification standards.

In an interview with Fox News Digital in Warsaw, Polish Deputy Defense Minister Paweł Zalewski confirmed the first F-35 arrival is expected soon. “I can confirm that it will be very, very soon,” Zalewski said.

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“F-35s provides very, very important capabilities, so it offers domination in the air. That is crucial in the battlefield nowadays,” he added. “It will be a capability developed together with Americans.”

At a time when NATO burden-sharing remains a recurring debate in Washington, Poland has emerged as one of the alliance’s strongest military partners, dramatically increasing defense spending, purchasing American weapons systems and hosting U.S. forces.

For many Polish officers, the threat from Moscow is deeply personal.

Lt. Col. “Shooter,” a Polish F-16 pilot at the base, told Fox News Digital that countries on NATO’s eastern flank still carry memories of Soviet domination.

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“There are still people that lived in communism,” he said. “We remember, and we don’t want anything like that to happen again.”

Looking at Russia’s actions in Chechnya, Georgia, Crimea and Ukraine, he said Poland believes deterrence is essential.

“We have this intuition probably written in our DNA,” Shooter said. “When they are doing something, they’re not going to stop unless the cost of the further operation is going to be more than what they’re going to gain.”

According to the U.S. Air Force, Polish pilots began F-35 training in the United States in 2024, including at Ebbing Air National Guard Base in Arkansas. The 33rd Fighter Wing announced in February that a Polish pilot had completed the first flight on Poland’s new F-35A aircraft as part of the training program.

Lockheed Martin told Fox News Digital that “integration of the F-35 into the Polish Air Force fleet advances regional deterrence, enhances interoperability and strengthens European security.”

“As seen in recent combat and air policing operations, the F-35 is actively helping defend NATO and allied airspace by deterring and defeating threats, and it will protect Poland’s national security for decades to come,” a company spokesperson said.

The company added that preparations are continuing for Poland’s first in-country F-35 arrival celebration at Lask in June.

المصدر: Fox News — World