The Polish Ministry of National Defence (MoD) officially starts the process of acquiring a fleet of new fighter jets to replace the Soviet-designed MiG-29 and Su-22 aircraft.

Polish Armament Inspectorate has announced the launch of market analysis on the items: “Increasing the ability to perform tasks in the context of offensive and defensive combat against the enemy’s air potential and tasks performed to support land, maritime and special operations – Multirole Combat Aircraft”

That was reported on the website of the Armaments Inspectorate on 23 November.

This indicates quite clearly the desire to obtain information on the capabilities of a  fifth-generation fighter aircraft under this procedure as part of Harpia program (Harpy in English).

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Early, Defence24 reported that Polish Ministry officials have said that Warsaw might purchase two squadrons of F-35 Lightning II jets, consisting of a total of 32 aircraft as part of Harpia program.

That said, earlier this year, Polish Defence Minister Antoni Macierewicz stated that the country’s government may purchase used F-16 fighter jets for the Polish Air Force from the United States. The aircraft would be overhauled and upgraded by the Polish state-run defense industry. The new jets are designed to replace Poland’s Soviet-designed Sukhoi Su-22 and Mikoyan MiG-29 fighters.

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In the case of the Multi-purpose Combat Aircraft, the analytical-concept phase should last until December 2018, but due to the complexity of the program, it can not be ruled out that the term will be extended.