February 17, 2008: A Polish firm has
completed assembling and testing 43 American F100 jet engines, to be used in
F-16 fighters bought from the United States.
This work began in late 2006. While several Polish firms have been
producing aircraft engines for over half a century, most of these were licensed
Soviet designs. Doing this work on the F100s demonstrated that Polish firms
were capable to dealing with more exacting Western technology. The Poles have
been going after aircraft maintenance work, offering high quality work, and low
prices for airlines and air forces in neighboring countries, and for
international airlines that fly into Poland.
