In the context of a speech delivered this morning, the Deputy Prime Minister of Poland, Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, announced that his country will upgrade its fleet of 48 F-16C/D Block 52 fighters to the Block 72 version, the most advanced available for the aircraft manufactured by Lockheed Martin. In particular, this is an important program for which Warsaw will have to invest an amount of around 3.8 billion dollars, with the corresponding document signed by Polish and U.S. authorities at Military Aviation Plant No. 2 in Bydgoszcz.
Quoting some of the official statements made by Deputy Prime Minister Kosiniak-Kamysz himself: “The current capabilities of the C/D version of the F-16 are good, but after 20 years, they are insufficient to face threats. We need to improve reconnaissance capabilities, communications, integration with the F-35, the Abrams, and the Apache, as well as the ability to operate in any domain. The modernization, valued at 3.8 billion dollars, will allow the transition from the C/D Block 52 version to the V Block 72 version, the same one acquired, among others, by the Slovaks as their most modern aircraft.”
It should also be noted that the modernization process of the Polish F-16s will be carried out within local territory, specifically inside the aforementioned Military Aviation Plant No. 2 in Bydgoszcz. These works, as was officially indicated, will place special emphasis on the integration of new AN/APG-83 SABR AESA radars, identification friend-or-foe and communication systems. In addition to this, the country will make investments in the ground infrastructure associated with the aircraft, to which new simulators for pilot training on the platform will be added.
On the other hand, it is worth recalling that Poland already had the corresponding authorization from the United States to move forward with the program since October of last year, which we duly reported at the time following its publication by the State Department. It should be mentioned, however, that the agreement finally signed differs notably in terms of the amounts of money expressed back then; an amount that reached up to 7.3 billion dollars.
*Image credits: Ministry of Defense of Poland
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