Norway has taken delivery of its last two Lockheed Martin F-35As, marking the completion of its fighter fleet modernisation activity.
Announcing the shipment of the Royal Norwegian Air Force’s (RNoAF’s) 51st and 52nd jets on 1 April, Lockheed noted that this made Norway “the first F-35 partner nation to fulfil its programme of record” for the stealthy type.
“The aircraft ensure that we can safeguard Norwegian sovereignty and maintain even better control over our areas on land, at sea and in the air,” says defence minister Tore O. Sandvik, who describes the F-35 as “the world’s best fighter jet”.
Chauncey McIntosh, Lockheed’s vice-president and general manager of the F-35 programme, says the new fleet ensures that the RNoAF “remains ahead of emerging threats to protect security for Norway and its allies for decades to come”.
Acquired as replacements for the nation’s already retired Lockheed F-16s, the new type is operated from Orland air base.
Oslo accepted its first F-35As in November 2015 to support training activities in the USA, and its first examples arrived in Norway two years later. Its air force declared initial operational capability with the type in November 2019, and retired its final F-16s in January 2022.
Meanwhile, Oslo in late-March announced a major investment in support of its F-35s, with Kongsberg Aviation Maintenance Services (KAMS) to establish of a new maintenance facility for the type at Rygge air base.
“The new facility will be used to carry out maintenance, upgrades, modifications and improvements to Norwegian F-35 fighter aircraft,” the nation’s defence ministry says. It currently sends its jets to Cameri air base in Italy to undergo such work.
The new agreement with KAMS also covers the company’s delivery of services for an initial period of up to 15 years.
