New 85th Fighter Group Trains First Polish F-35 Pilots With More Nations to Come

A new F-35 training group graduated its first batch of two Polish pilots May 9, with more on the way from Poland, Finland, Germany, Switzerland, Singapore, and other partners.

The 85th Fighter Group was reactivated at Ebbing Air National Guard Base, Ark. last July to help other F-35 buyers prepare to operate the new jet. The group is a geographically separated unit of the 33rd Fighter Wing, an F-35 training unit at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla.

“We’re deeply committed to ensuring our allies and partners have the capabilities they need to deter aggression and to increase stability, and the activation allows us to begin the build-up to full-time F-35 [foreign military sales] training operations,” group commander Col. Nick Ihde said in a press release last year. The first two of eight planned Polish F-35s arrived at Ebbing in December.

The goal for this year is to graduate six Polish pilots total, Ihde told Air & Space Forces Magazine

Ebbing is not the first base to host foreign F-35 students. Italian, Norwegian, Belgian, Dutch, Danish and Singaporean Air Force F-35 pilots train at Luke Air Force Base, Ariz., for example—though the Singapore contingent is relocating to Ebbing, which works solely with foreign military sales customers within the F-35 enterprise, Ihde explained. Singapore will also move its F-16 training program from Luke to Ebbing. In Poland’s case, pilots did initial simulator training at Eglin before moving to Ebbing in January to start flying.

“Training here in the U.S. builds more than skills; it builds trust, interoperability, and a deep bond with our American counterparts,” Maj. Gen. Ireneusz Nowak, Inspector of the Polish Air Force, said in a May 9 press release. “We are proud to be the first F-35 partner to reach this phase at Ebbing.”

The graduation ceremony on May 9 also marked the 85th Fighter Group reaching initial operational capability.

“Building an international training center, getting requirements to align, and training and teaching with allies like Poland makes it truly meaningful,” Ihde said in the May 9 press release. “The relationships built amongst these countries will benefit global security for decades to come.”

Foreign pilot training has long been a tool to strengthen bonds with allies and enhance interoperability. A sign outside of the 162nd Fighter Wing headquarters building at Morris Air National Guard Base, Ariz., for example, features arrows with mileage markers pointing to the capitals of countries the unit has trained pilots from, including Greece, Pakistan, Thailand, Portugal, and more. Meanwhile, the Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training Program at Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas, churns out hundreds of pilots a year from more than a dozen countries across Europe and North America. 

“The 33rd Fighter Wing has a legacy of forging the future of combat airpower, and now, through the 85th Fighter Group, we’re extending that legacy by training allied pilots who will fly shoulder-to-shoulder with us in future conflicts,” Col. Dave Skalicky, commander of the 33rd Fighter Wing, said in the May 9 press release. “This is deterrence in action.”