Advanced, difficult to detect, and capable of performing rapid data analysis. The F-35 offers entirely new capabilities to the Polish Air Force.

F-35 It can support not only other aircraft but also air defense systems, missile artillery, and command posts.

The F-35A Lightning II is much more than just a successor to older fighter jets. This fifth-generation multi-role aircraft was designed to operate in a network with other platforms and weapons systems, providing pilots and commanders with the information necessary to make rapid decisions. Poland has ordered 32 F-35As, whose deployment is expected to significantly improve the country’s defense capabilities and strengthen cooperation with NATO allies.

Fifth Generation

The history of the F-35 dates to the 1990s, when the United States launched the Joint Strike Fighter program. The goal was to create a versatile combat aircraft capable of replacing many older designs and performing a variety of tasks, from air-to-air combat to attacks on ground targets and reconnaissance. The work performed by Lockheed Martin resulted in three versions of the aircraft: the F-35A for conventional air forces, the F-35B with short take-off and vertical landing capabilities, and the carrier-based F-35C.

The ‘fifth-generation aircraft’ designation attributed to the F-35 does not merely refer to a more modern design. It is a combination of several key features that together create an entirely new quality on the battlefield. The best-known of these is stealth technology, which makes the aircraft much harder to detect and track by air defense systems. It has been achieved through the specific shape of the airframe, the use of radar-absorbing materials, and the internal carriage of weapons. As a result, the F-35 can operate closer to the enemy while remaining harder to detect than older aircraft.

Flying Information Center

The essence of fifth-generation aircraft lies not only in their reduced detectability, but above all in the ability to fuse data (sensor fusion), analyze it, and securely exchange it with other operation participants. The F-35 is equipped with an advanced AESA (Active Electronically Scanned Array) radar, an EOTS (Electro-Optical Targeting System), a set of DAS (Distributed Aperture System) cameras providing 360-degree surveillance, and extensive electronic warfare systems. The information collected by all these systems is automatically integrated, providing the pilot with a clear, comprehensive picture of the battlefield rather than readings from multiple independent sensors.

In practice, this means that the F-35 is one of the key elements of a network-centric battlefield. It can support not only other aircraft but also air defense systems, missile artillery, and command posts. Flying at high altitudes, the F-35 can detect targets located hundreds of kilometers away from its own forces, overcoming the limitations of traditional reconnaissance methods related to distance and the curvature of the Earth. As a result, it can designate targets for systems such as rocket artillery, thereby increasing the effectiveness of long-range strikes.

Still, it is the pilot who retains control over the flow of information. This is particularly important during missions requiring low detectability – limiting data transmission helps avoid unnecessary exposure of the aircraft’s presence.

Weapons of Today and Tomorrow

The F-35A is capable of carrying various types of air-to-air and air-to-ground weapons, the most important of which are the AIM-120 AMRAAM and AIM-9X Sidewinder missiles for engaging air targets, as well as guided bombs from the JDAM and SDB families, designed for precision strikes against ground targets. The aircraft’s fuselage also houses the GAU-22/A 25-mm four-barrel cannon. In its stealth configuration, the F-35 uses internal weapon bays to maintain low detectability. If necessary, it can also carry additional weapons on external hardpoints.

The Block 4 modernization program aims to expand the F-35’s combat capabilities by integrating additional types of weapons and developing specific systems. Among the planned effectors are the Joint Strike Missile (JSM), designed to engage land and maritime targets at long ranges, as well as additional types of guided bombs and air-to-air missiles. “The F-35 is a constantly evolving platform. It’s not a single aircraft in a single configuration, but a system that gains new capabilities with each software update and integration of new features,” says Scott ‘Shark’ McLaren, an F-35 test pilot at Lockheed Martin.

Importance for Poland

The deployment of the F-35A Husarz will primarily enhance the situational awareness of the entire Polish Armed Forces. The aircraft can detect threats earlier than older platforms, operate in heavily defended airspace, and support other branches of the armed forces by providing them with up-to-date information.

Interoperability is just as important. The F-35 is a common platform for many NATO countries, which facilitates cooperation during allied operations – from data exchange to joint planning and combat operations. The introduction of these aircraft into service means that Poland is becoming part of this network and will strengthen its capabilities to operate within the Alliance.

It also solidifies our country’s position in Central-Eastern Europe as one of the key pillars of NATO’s eastern flank. Along with Patriot systems, HIMARS rocket artillery, and modern command and control systems, the F-35 becomes one of the most important elements of integrated deterrence.

The F-35A Husarz is therefore not merely a new combat aircraft. It is an information platform that combines reconnaissance, command, and precision strike capabilities. Modern conflicts clearly show that superiority is increasingly determined not by the number of machines, but by the speed at which information is collected and utilized. This is precisely why the introduction of the F-35 is considered one of the most significant modernization projects of the Polish Armed Forces since joining NATO.