Poland Seeks F-35 Force to Deter Russia

Video Above: F-35s to Europe

By Kris Osborn – President & Editor-In-Chief, Warrior Maven

The current Russian threat to Ukraine leaves little question as to why Poland is moving quickly to stand up its own fleet of F-35 aircraft, stealth fighters with the reach and combat radius to not only defend the Polish border but also support skies over Ukraine and even reach parts of Russia itself if needed.

F-35s and Poland

Poland shares a large border with Ukraine so it makes sense that the country would want to shore up deterrence efforts and protections for its own borders in the event Ukraine falls under Russian control. To the North, Poland borders the Baltic states and could even form a kind of F-35 “net” or “web” with Finland now that it has chosen the F-35 as well.

Certainly Poland, Finland, and other European F-35 countries present a formidable deterrent to any kind of Russian incursion, given that Russia would likely have difficulty securing the skies in support of any kind of large ground assault. Given this circumstance, it seems entirely possible that a strong, visible F-35 presence in Poland could offer itself as a sole factor sufficient to deter a potential Russian invasion of the Baltics or Ukraine. 

This is particularly true when considering the likelihood of Finnish-Polish F-35 collaboration which, simply put, could by itself potentially thwart, stop, destroy or at least prevent a large-scale Russian military invasion.

Poland also likely seeks the F-35 for defensive purposes as well, given that its borders are within striking distance of 5th-generation, stealthy Russian Su-57s and medium-range ballistic missiles. Depending upon the range and resolution of the targeting sensors built into the Russian Su-57, Polish F-35s might be positioned to see and destroy approaching Russian aircraft before they are detected themselves. That is the intent of the F-35 to a large degree, meaning the aircraft has been built and upgraded to leverage a computing, sensing and targeting advantage over potential adversaries such that it can destroy large numbers of enemy fighters with a single aircraft.