On Thursday, April 25, 2024, the American newspaper Arkansas Business reported, citing its sources in the US Department of Defense, that this fall, the first Polish soldiers will arrive at the Ebbing Air Base of the Arkansas National Guard in Fort Smith, where they will commence training on the Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II multirole aircraft.
Image: Lockheed Martin
As reported by the newspaper, renovation works worth 500 million USD are currently being carried out at the base, as announced on November 20, 2023, so that scheduled training for foreign pilots and ground personnel can commence in the second half of 2024.
The Arkansas Business newspaper was the first to confirm, on September 12, 2022, that Poland would be the first user of the second training center for F-35 aircraft flying and ground personnel at the Ebbing base in Fort Smith (initial unconfirmed reports on this matter appeared in the press as early as February 6, 2022).
A total of 24 pilots and 90 technical personnel members will be trained.
The next national groups scheduled for training at Ebbing will be Finland (fall 2025), Germany (fall 2026), Singapore (fall 2026; with additional training on F-16s at Luke Air Force Base in Arkansas from the summer of 2027), and Switzerland (summer 2027).
Local authorities anticipate that the establishment of the F-35 training center in Ebbing will lead to the creation of 1000 new jobs and generate, in the longer term, up to 1 billion USD in economic activity. In the past, the civil-military airport was used for training A-10C Thunderbolt II attack aircraft pilots. Currently, it serves fewer than 100,000 passengers.
According to the newspaper, the influx of export F-35 aircraft and foreign crews will necessitate continuous renovations of the Ebbing base to ensure compliance with various national protocols and technical support requirements. Although exact details of the training program have not been disclosed, it is expected that the program will enhance the capabilities of allied air forces and promote closer military cooperation among participating countries.
Polish pilots will undergo training up to the instructor level at Ebbing, enabling subsequent aviators to be trained in Poland, at the Integrated Training Center, where eight full mission simulators will be located. Part of the training will take place at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida, which was visited by the then Polish Minister of National Defense Mariusz Błaszczak on June 11, 2019.
Poland will receive 32 F-35A aircraft in the latest Block 4 configuration and Technical Refresh 3 (TR3) equipment version, under the intergovernmental agreement dated January 31, 2020, valued at 4.6 billion USD. The presentation of the first of those aircraft can be expected in the coming months (their assembly began last year). According to the agreement, the first 6 of the produced aircraft will be allocated for training.
The arrival of the first units to the Poland is scheduled for the transition period between 2025 and 2026, followed by the formation of the first squadron at the 32nd Tactical Air Base in Łask. The second squadron will be formed in 2030 at the 21st Tactical Air Base in Świdwin.