US, Poland Near F-16 Basing Deal

The United States and Poland later this month are expected to announce the plan to base US Air Force F-16s on a temporary basis in Poland to help train Poland’s new F-16 force. The announcement will coincide with President Obama’s state visit to Poland May 27-28, reported the Wall Street Journal. Up to 16 F-16s from Aviano AB, Italy, will come to Lask air base in central Poland on a rotational basis from 2013, reported Britain’s Telegraph. Lask is home to Polish F-16s. Last December, during President Bronislaw Komorowski’s official visit to Washington, D.C., the two leaders announced that the United States would establish an “air detachment in Poland to support periodic rotation of US military aircraft.” The Polish air force also operates former USAF C-130Es and has trained with airmen of the 86th Airlift Wing at Ramstein, AB, Germany, who fly C-130Js.