It looks like the Polish government has decided not to purchase used F-16’s from the US after all. Poland’s Deputy Minister of National Defence Bartosz Kownacki had said as recently as January that they were considering purchasing 50 to 100 used Falcons.
“We are not going to buy used older versions of the F-16,” Kownacki said.
A possible alternative would be to buy new F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, but Kownacki said in January that he believes the purchase of F-35s is “not economically justified. We will have to make a decision.”
In his statement to parliament this week, Kownacki said, “The analysis of purchasing of F-16A/B aircraft were carried out by the Ministry of National Defence, the general staff of the Polish armed forces and the armament inspectorate, and after that, it was clear that this was not the right direction.” – DoDBUZZ
While not specifying exact costs the minister said the expense to modernize the used F-16s would be too high. The original idea for buying the used Falcons was to replace Poland’s aging Russian built Sukhoi Su-22s and Mikoyan MiG-29s.
Poland currently operates 48 F-16s and expects them to be in service for another 30 years.
Featured image of a Polish F-16 by Defense Industry Daily
