Polish Air Force
The Siły Powietrzne (English: Polish Air Force – literally: Air Forces) is a military branch of the Polish Armed Forces. Until July 2004 it was officially known as Wojska Lotnicze i Obrony Powietrznej (literally: Air-and-Air Defence Forces). In December 2018 it consisted of roughly 16,500 military personnel and about 304 aircraft, distributed among ten bases throughout Poland. The Polish Air Force is currently one of the most advanced in Central Europe, equipped since 2008 with the Lockheed Martin F-16C/D multirole jet fighter.
The Polish Air Force can trace its origins to the months following the end of World War I in 1918. Following the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany in 1939, much of the Polish Air Force was destroyed, although many of its pilots were able to continue fighting throughout World War II in air squadrons in Britain and the Soviet Union. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Poland has steadily reduced its reliance upon Russian-built aircraft and by 2012 will have three squadrons of American-built F-16 fighter aircraft fully operational.
Aircraft Inventory[edit | edit source]
Fighters[edit | edit source]
- Lockheed Martin F-16C/D Blk.50/52+ Jastrząb x 48 (Multirole Fighter)
- Mikoyan MiG-29A/UB "Fulcrum" x 30 (Air Superiority Fighter)
- Sukhoi Su-22 "Fitter-F" x 32 (Attack Aircraft)
AWACS Aircraft[edit | edit source]
- Saab 340 AEW&C x 2 (AWACS Aircraft)
Transport Aircraft[edit | edit source]
- Boeing 737-800 x 2 (VIP Transport)
- Boeing BBJ2 x 2 (VIP Transport)
- Boeing C-17 Globemaster III x 3
- CASA C-295M x 16 (Transport Aircraft)
- Gulfstream G550 x 2 (VIP Transport)
- Lockheed C-130E Hercules x 6 (Transport Aircraft)
- PZL M28 Skytruck x 24 (Transport Aircraft)
Helicopters[edit | edit source]
- Mil Mi-8/17 x 12 (Helicopter)
- PZL Mi-2 x 18 (Helicopter)
- PZL W-3 Sokół x 18 (Helicopter)
Trainer Aircraft[edit | edit source]
- Alenia Aermacchi M-346 Master x 12 (Jet Trainer)
- PZL-130 Orlik x 18 (Trainer Aircraft)
- PZL TS-11 Iskra x 38 (Jet Trainer)
- Cabri G2 x 4 (Training Helicopter)
- PZL SW-4 Puszczyk x 24 (Training Helicopter)
UAVs[edit | edit source]
- Baykar Bayraktar TB2 x 6 (UCAV) - 12 more on order
- General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper
