Minister of Defense of Poland signs contract to purchase FA-50 aircraft

Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak signed a deal for the supply of FA-50 aircraft.

The relevant statement was made by the Ministry of Defense of Poland.

“Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak approved the deal for the supply of FA-50 aircraft, which will meet the requirements of the Polish Air Force,” the message said.

This deal will equip up to three Air Force squadrons. The first aircraft will be delivered as early as mid-2023.

It was previously reported that Poland is about to buy 48 FA-50 light combat aircraft. Their outdated Soviet fighters will be replaced by FA-50 fighter jets.

“We are interested in purchasing three squadrons, that is 48 aircraft. The first aircraft will be delivered to Poland next year,” the Minister said the day before.

The FA-50 is the combat version of the T-50, which is used for strike and reconnaissance missions. KAI T-50 Golden Eagle is a family of South Korean supersonic jet trainers and light combat aircraft developed by Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) in collaboration with Lockheed Martin.

Mariusz Blaszczak also announced that Poland is considering the purchase of F-15 fighter jets.

He spoke about this in an interview with Defense 24.

Commenting on the purchase of FA-50 aircraft, Mariusz Blaszczak said that it is not the last decision of the government on the Polish Air Force development.

“We will accelerate the delivery of the F-35. In the long term, we plan to acquire additional units of the F-35 or the F-15. And we are closely monitoring the progress of our South Korean partners on the KF-21 Boramae,” he said.

While speaking about the FA-50 purchase, Blaszczak noted that pilot training would not require extra time or funding. The Polish infrastructure is ready for them, since the aircraft are similar to the F-16.