Polish F-35 jets expected to soon arrive in Fort Smith

The first two F-35 fighter jets built for Poland will soon roll off the Lockheed production line in Fort Worth, Texas, and Col. Nicholas Ihde is ready to fly one of the fifth-generation jets to Fort Smith and “bring to fruition” the U.S. Air Force foreign pilot training center.

Ihde, commander of the 85th Fighter Group at Ebbing Air National Guard Base in Fort Smith, told Talk Business & Politics on Thursday that the jets expected to arrive in September could arrive in Fort Smith as early as Dec. 20. He said the noisy arrival of the first two jets should put to rest any concerns about the reality of the high-profile training center.

“There’s been some naysayers around that think this is never going to come to fruition because it was so far out in the future. What I would tell you is we are right around the corner. In the next week or two I’m going down to Fort Worth to fly the first Poland jet here to Ebbing,” said Ihde, who officially took command of the 85th in early July.

The 85th Fighter Group and the 57th Fighter Squadron, both under the Eglin, Fla.-based 33rd Fighter Wing, is based at Ebbing and are responsible for training F-35 pilots from numerous U.S. and NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) allied countries.

Ebbing, home to the 188th Wing in Fort Smith and co-located with the Fort Smith Regional Airport, was selected in March 2023 by the U.S. Air Force to be the long-term pilot training center supporting F-16 and F-35 fighter planes purchased by Singapore, Switzerland, Poland, Germany, Finland and other countries participating in the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program.

The original plan for the base to support 36 planes has been amended to accommodate 46 fighter jets. The most recent estimate is that the training center will cost $850 million when fully operational. State officials have said the cost could rise to $1 billion and produce a $450 million annual economic impact for the region and state.

Ihde said the short delay in receiving the jets – primarily the result of software issues – has been the one thing that has not gone as smooth as he hoped in standing up the training center. He said the delay “put us in a little bit of a pinch” to meet training schedules for the foreign pilots. But he said working with the 188th has been much smoother than he expected thanks in part to 188th Wing Commander Col. Jay Spohn being an F-35 pilot.

“The ability to work with the 188th on a regular basis and have them understand what is needed in building an F-35 community has gone smoother than i ever thought it would,” said Ihde, who was one of the pilots in 2014 to test the F-35 platform at Edwards Air Force Base in California.

Ihde also said Fort Smith city officials, the Fort Smith Regional Chamber of Commerce, and other area groups and institutions have helped and continue to help the U.S. Air Force make the training center a reality.

After the Polish delegation arrives in the next few weeks, the Finland contingent is set to arrive in the fall of 2025, followed by German pilots and crew in the spring of 2026. F-35’s from Singapore are also set to arrive in the spring of 2026, with Singapore F-16’s expected to arrive in the summer of 2027. Singapore planes and pilots will have a long-term mission at Ebbing, Ihde reminded.

Tim Allen, president and CEO of the Fort Smith chamber, said arrival of the Polish jets is “definitely a momentous” part of the multi-year effort to bring the training center to the city.

“In the early days, we were fighting for it, and Fort Smith is good about fighting for stuff. We don’t always win at everything, but we won big with this one,” Allen said of the pilot training center.

He also said the pilot training center, the only one of its kind in the U.S. Air Force, has brought global recognition to Fort Smith.

“You know, four or five years ago, they (foreign military officials) probably couldn’t find Arkansas on a map, and now they can’t wait to get to Fort Smith, Arkansas. … We’re on the world stage now, and we have to make sure we do it right, and make sure we do it in a classy way,” Allen said.