Ukraine May Use Aerial Tankers Poland Plans to Purchase
Poland says Ukraine may be allowed to use aerial refuelling aircraft that Warsaw plans to purchase, but only after a peace agreement is signed.
Poland has said that, in the future, the aerial refuelling aircraft it plans to purchase could be used by Ukrainian aviation. This was stated by General Ireneusz Nowak, head of the Operational Command of the Branches of the Polish Armed Forces, in an interview with Defence24.
According to him, the aerial tankers are expected to serve not only the Polish Air Force. Romania, Bulgaria, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, the Baltic states, and Ukraine may also be given access to them in the future.
At the same time, Nowak stressed that the use of these aircraft by the Ukrainian military during the ongoing hostilities is not under consideration. He linked the possibility of their use by Ukrainian aviation to the period after a peace agreement is signed.
Poland is still only preparing to acquire the aircraft. In June, Polish Minister of National Defence Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said that Warsaw was holding talks with Spain on purchasing aerial refuelling aircraft.
Poland says it needs the tankers because of its acquisition of US F-35 fighter jets, which require the relevant infrastructure and aerial refuelling capability.