WARSAW, June 12 (Reuters) - The U.S. will give Poland a new $4 billion loan from the Foreign Military Financing programme, U.S. Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security Thomas DiNanno said on Friday during the inaugural flight of F-35 jets bought from the U.S.
DiNanno told PAP news agency the U.S. would offer Poland the new loan for arms purchases, bringing the entire amount available to the country to $20 billion.
Poland’s first F-35 fighter jets made the inaugural flight across the NATO-member state on Friday, as the country became the first on the alliance’s eastern flank to possess the aircraft amid what it sees as a threat from Russia.
Poland ordered 32 of the fifth generation jets in a $4.6 billion deal in 2020. The first three arrived in May, with deliveries scheduled to be completed in 2029.
Polish officials say the F-35s will provide a major boost to the country’s defence capabilities. As well as featuring stealth technology, they have a range of sensors that collect data for the pilot and for other units.
The ceremony was attended by Polish President Karol Nawrocki, Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz and DiNanno as a representative of the U.S. administration.
“In the armed forces development programme, we have included two additional squadrons of 5th-generation F-35 aircraft to strengthen the military,” Kosiniak-Kamysz said during the ceremony.
(Reporting by Alan Charlish and Anna Wlodarczak-Semczuk; Editing by Alison Williams)
