Poland's "Peace Sky" at home in Arizona.(FEATURE ARTICLES)

In the transition from Soviet-built MiG-29s and Su-22s to American-built F-16s, Poland takes on one of North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATOs) most aggressive fighter up-starts known as "Peace Sky."

A new generation of Polish Air Force pilots are learning how to fly their country's most advanced fighter, the F-16C/D "Jastrzab" or "Hawk" as it is called, from the Arizona Air National Guard. To date, the central European country has received 41 of the 48 F-16s it has on order and is rapidly increasing its number of qualified pilots with help from seasoned instructors at the 162nd Fighter Wing based at Tucson International Airport.

 
   When the program started here in 2004, we were training Poland's 
   senior pilots and Squadron Commanders. These days we are training 
   their junior pilots, said Lieutenant Colonel Will Johnson, an 
   instructor pilot in charge of the wing's Polish program. We have 
   graduated about 34 Polish pilots so far, and we anticipate that 
   there will be more to come. 

Polish fighter pilots undergo a rigorous selection process at home to fly the F-16, the future of their country's Air Force. The Su-22 Fitter, for example, is scheduled for retirement in 2012 prompting more pilots to apply for the Peace Sky program.

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First Lieutenant Adam Jantas is one of seven Polish Air Force pilots currently half-way through the initial F-16 course. He is a graduate of Poland's Air Force Academy and has eight years of fighter pilot experience in the Su-22.

 
   It was my goal to train in the U.S., said the Lieutenant. I have 
   been here for two years. I started at language school at Lackland 
   Air Force Base in Texas, and then I went to T-38 training at 
   Columbus Air Force Base in Mississippi. My final phase is here.