Norway Has Completed A Successful Verification Of The F-35 Drag Chute System, Unique To The Norwegian Aircraft.

February 20, 2018 F-35, Military Aviation
David Cenciotti

The chute, housed under a small fairing on the upper rear fuselage between the vertical tails, is unique to the Norwegian aircraft.

On Feb. 16, the Royal Norwegian Air Force completed a successful verification of the F-35A drag chute system at Ørland Air Force Base.

The system, housed under a small fairing on the upper rear fuselage between the vertical tails, can be used to rapidly decelerate Norwegian F-35s after landing on the country’s icy runways under windy conditions.

Although the chute is unique to the Norwegian aircraft, other nations flying the F-35A may adopt it, if needed.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Air Force is completing another round of cold-weather testing of the F-35A at Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska.

The RoNAF F-35 during the drag chute test (credit: RoNAF)

“Receiving the first three aircraft in November 2017 was a major milestone for Norway. The program delivers on all key criteria: Time, cost and performance. Through the verification of the production version of the drag chute on our production model of the F-35, the weapons system is expected to fully qualify for arctic conditions this spring,” says Major General Morten Klever, Program Director for the F-35 program in Norway’s Ministry of Defence.

The first three RoNAF F-35s have landed in Norway in November 2017. According to the Norwegian MoD, from 2018, Norway will receive six aircraft annually up until, and including, 2024.

Norway plans to procure up to 52 F-35A to replace its fleet of ageing F-16s, that will be replaced in 2021. The first two aircraft were delivered in 2015 followed by another two in 2016 and three more ones earlier in 2017, but these aircraft were based at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona, where they are used for Norwegian and partner country pilot training.

Top image credit: Royal Norwegian Air Force

About David Cenciotti
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David Cenciotti is a journalist based in Rome, Italy. He is the Founder and Editor of “The Aviationist”, one of the world’s most famous and read military aviation blogs. Since 1996, he has written for major worldwide magazines, including Air Forces Monthly, Combat Aircraft, and many others, covering aviation, defense, war, industry, intelligence, crime and cyberwar. He has reported from the U.S., Europe, Australia and Syria, and flown several combat planes with different air forces. He is a former 2nd Lt. of the Italian Air Force, a private pilot and a graduate in Computer Engineering. He has written five books and contributed to many more ones.

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29 Comments

  1. Looks fabulous! Anyway, let me focus on F-35s future stationing at Eielson Air Force Base. Why might that be? Well, what country threatens U.S. sovereignty way up North other than hapless and poor, wannabe world economic and military superpower (but never will be) Russia. Specifically …

    Their gambit in trying to steal sea-bed under the Arctic in order to harvest its vast natural resources. Natural resources that belong to NATO nations and of course the US via their national and our Alaskan EEZs. With F-35 standing watch over that cold but strategically important part of the world, guess what? Ain’t gonna happen. You can read about it here:

    http://www.alaskaf35s.com/

    Russia may be fuming at the basing of F-35 in AK, but there’s not a damn thing they can do about it. Oh – and thanks for selling us that mineral- and oil-, natural gas-rich State for peanuts. I’ll say one thing. Russians talk loud, but negotiate business deals a like bum sitting on a Moscow boulevard hat in hand begging for rubles to buy vodka. What unbelievable suckers! : )

  2. Will come in handy once Finland wisely decides purchase their own F-35s and join the family of free and prosperous, powerful democratic nations called NATO. There’s an evil Bear lurking in their back yard and only NATO has the power to swat it down. Just like a fly. In no small part thanks to the unmatched power of the unbeatable, world-class 5th Gen fighter – the F35. Try as they may, Russia and China have nothing like it:

    https://youtu.be/NC8VhGq0R4o

    Too bad for the bad guys!

    • Come on, this is a commercial video that can not stand a detailed analysis, as many I have seen published online. Is a video for people that are noob in the subject.

      1. the F-35 is not the only aircraft with RAM right now.
      2. The F-35 will need external bags to fulfill the mission as any other aircraft
      3. The F-35 will need to have external ordnance to fulfill long duration CAS ops
      4. Many aircraft have AESA radar right now, or are planning to install on it
      5. The datalink exists since the 80s in the SU-27/33 Russian aircrafts
      6. The maintenance of the F-35 IS NOT CHEAPER than the F-18, F-15 and other existing aircrafts!

      • External bags? Don’t look now Pep!

        https://news.usni.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/unnamed-5.jpg
        Above: General Atomics MQ-25 Stingray

        lol! Oh, btw:

        1. F-35 RAM is improved over F-22s, has a new process for applying it to the airframe (F-35 RAM coating is baked onto the panels. This makes it more water resistant and longer lasting. The formulation is Top Secret so I can’t brief you on it ). It needs less maintenance and is far superior to that made/applied by Russia and China. As a matter of fact Russia’s Su-57 RAM is so crappy it peels off in flight.
        2. See picture above.
        3. Small Diameter Bomb II.
        4. Not AESA like the LPI APG-81. The NG AESA is far superior to anything RussiaChina has.
        5. SU-27/33 has nothing as sophisticate as MADL. Most likely even below Link-16’s capabilities.
        6. Since you need fewer F-35s in your nation’s air force’s fleet (than if you fly 4th Gen), total maintenance costs are lower. One F-35 can do the job of 3 F/A-18s. 6 F-15Cs. 10 Su-35s. F-35 is a FORCE MULTIPLIER. Get it?

        Now … I grant you your leave. Don’t go away sore because you lost! : )

        Feel honored Pepe. I grant few RussiaChina fanboys here an audience (reply). They aren’t worth the time of day. I made a one-time exception for you.

        • 1. Source of the malfunction of soviet/chinesse RAM please?. One example, the russians build a better anaechoic tile for their subs, than the american ones, that are peeling off their subs (and there are a lot of pics online). AFAIK all the latest RAM are baked to the airframe, is not only paint.
          2. The picture is a standard refueling method, how much weight can carry a drone like this? And they can be destroyed too.
          3. The F-35 will never do the task of the A-10C, forget that!
          4. You don’t have any idea of what the russians have in the AESA electronic tech.
          5. All the 4++ aircraft right now are digitally communicated each other, (MIG-35, SU-30MK2, SU-35, etc)
          6. Wake me up please when this happens! :D

          I love US tech mate, but I never understimate the others one.

          By the way, the russians always have a mix between digital, EM and analog tech, you know why? because they know that in the first week of war between any of this powerful countries, all the space comm satellites will be KAPUT! Even Tom Clancy described this scenario in his 1986 novel Red Storm Rising!

          • “1. Source of the malfunction of soviet/chinesse RAM please?. One example, the russians build a better anaechoic tile for their subs, than the american ones, that are peeling off their subs (and there are a lot of pics online).”

            > Maybe because US submarines are out at sea more often and for a longer duration thus meaning more maintenance is needed? Ever think about that?

            “2. The picture is a standard refueling method, how much weight can carry a drone like this? And they can be destroyed too.”

            > So can Russian refueling aircraft… no real difference.

            “3. The F-35 will never do the task of the A-10C, forget that!”

            > Will the F-35 provide CAS fires the same way as the A-10? No… that doesn’t mean that the F-35 can’t perform a CAS mission role. Many aircraft have been providing CAS that isn’t the A-10. The aircraft that provided, flew, and used more munitions during CAS missions in Iraq and Afghanistan during OIF and OEF wasn’t the A-10… it was the F-16. Currently the F-15E has been used not only for strike missions but also for providing CAS in the current OIR. Other aircraft have provided CAS in ways the A-10 cant. During the first operations to take back Ramadi from Daesh forces the aircraft chosen to provide CAS to US backed Iraqi forces was the B-1B. The B-1B was selected for is long loiter time and large payload. F/A-18 Super Hornets have also been doing their fair share and when need be even the F-22 has provided close air support.

            http://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/dynamic-duo-how-the-10-f-35-stealth-fighter-can-work-15914

            You need to get your head out of the dirt…

            “4. You don’t have any idea of what the russians have in the AESA electronic tech.”

            > Russia doesn’t even have an operational AESA radar in any of their aircraft. The much overly hyped PAKFA hasn’t even done flight tests with an AESA radar. Simply put, the tech is there in Russia BUT they are significantly behind Western Europe and even more so to the US.

            “5. All the 4++ aircraft right now are digitally communicated each other, (MIG-35, SU-30MK2, SU-35, etc)”

            > Many NATO aircraft fly with Link-16. Whats your point? On the other hand IFDL used by the F-22 and MADL are superior in communication and integration. F-35’s MADL demonstrated something that no other communication linking systems has done before or can do currently…

            https://news.usni.org/2016/09/13/video-successful-f-35-sm-6-live-fire-test-points-expansion-networked-naval-warfare

            What Leroy said, “One F-35 can do the job of 3 F/A-18s. 6 F-15Cs. 10 Su-35s. F-35 is a FORCE MULTIPLIER. Get it?”

            What you said was, “6. Wake me up please when this happens! :D”

            http://www.sldinfo.com/f-35-at-red-flag-renorming-of-airpower-in-process/

            (Time index 13:30

            WAKE UP!

      • BTW Pep, let me re-emphasize this. You do know it used to take about 10 – 12 planes to do what 4 F-35s can accomplish. Take a standard 4th Gen strike package. 4 X F-16 to bomb the target. 4 X F-15 for top cover. 1 or 2 X EA-18G for jamming. Perhaps an E-2 or AWACS for early warning. So four (4) F-35s can do what used to take 10 – 12 aircraft. Now can you see why F-35 is far superior? I’m trying to help nurse you along. Honest to God I am!

        • And will be the same with the F-35, do you think the US will send a pack of F-35 to combat without the logistics behind? the E-2D (navy) or E-3 (airforce) will be there doing the same, the RC-135 will be doing the same, the refueling aircrafts will be in the air in a conventional war between powers (even againsts underdeveloped country as Irak or the others that have been invaded)

        • Leroy, Forgive my ignorance. Yes the F35 can preform multi roles, albeit not any better than a dedicated platform. That’s proven. However, that aside. Explain to me how a 4 plane strike package can outperform a 10 plane package. While your 4 f35 are striking, who is providing top cover? Oh. Wait. You have allocated 1 of those planes for cover, so now u only have 3 attacking. That one better be armed with more AA missiles than bombs, right? 1 for cover huh? Pretty bold and stupid.
          Now, who is going to provide jamming and anti radar suppression. Another plane? Which also better be armed with an adequate number of anti radiation missiles, again decreasing the bomb load. So now you have 2 1/2 planes planes fully loaded with bombs for the strike, or 1 1/2 if u chose 2 planes for cover. You might even gain only 2 with the combinations. Large strike..lol Your maybe attacking 1/3 less targets than before, which doesn’t even discuss mechanical/ electrical malfunctions while enroute. which means more sorties. So how is this better ? Obviously you’re designers have much farther reaching insight than the rest of us. Can u enlighten me please ?
          Oh. Another idea. A support mission that absolutely has to be there, and on time. 1 plane is forced back to due mechanical problems. 1 is god forbid shot down by 1 of 20 SAMS fired. Is the Mission scrubbed, or will it continue with 2 planes?

          • “Yes the F35 can preform multi roles, albeit not any better than a dedicated platform.”

            And you expect me to have a discussion with you? Sorry, but yours is too much ignorance even for me! First go get a high-school text on basic aero, then come back and maybe I’ll take the time to school you on 5th Gen fighter aviation and in particular on the F-35. I stand by everything I wrote, but can’t explain calculus to someone who hasn’t even mastered first-grade mathematics addition and subtraction! You’ve got a lot to learn. I can’t take time-consuming pages of web-script to teach you.

      • “1. the F-35 is not the only aircraft with RAM right now.”

        > F-35 is one of 2 fighter aircraft that are considered truly stealthy. Unlike other aircraft, F-35’s RAM is “baked” into the structure of the aircraft itself where all other current aircraft have RAM applied to. Also F-35 and F-22 are more stealthy then PAKFA.

        “2. The F-35 will need external bags to fulfill the mission as any other aircraft”

        > F-35A internal fuel load is a little over 18000lbs. That exceeds or is comparable to most any other current western fighter aircraft anywhere else.

        “3. The F-35 will need to have external ordnance to fulfill long duration CAS ops”

        > What would you consider long duration operations? What are you comparing it to? B-1B? MQ-9? F-15E? F-16? F/A-18? Rafale? By comparison an F-35 doing CAS mission set is just as effect if not more so in some areas then other fighter aircraft doing the same role.

        “4. Many aircraft have AESA radar right now, or are planning to installal on it”

        > Most fighter aircraft around the world still do not have an AESA radar as it main radar array. Western European Fighter aircraft are just now starting to be outfitted/upgraded with AESA radars while in comparison the F-35 had an AESA radar from the very outset. Russia STILL DOESN’T have an operational AESA radar in any of their fighter/attack aircraft. The AN/APG-81 of the F-35 is only beat out by the F-22 Raptors AN/APG-77.

        “5. The datalink exists since the 80s in the SU-27/33 Russian aircrafts”

        > This would be like comparing digital to analogue. In this respect the US and the West has significantly leaped ahead of older Russian systems.

        “6. The maintenance of the F-35 IS NOT CHEAPER than the F-18, F-15 and other existing aircrafts!”

        > This is an apples to oranges conversation. The F-35 variants have more commonality between them then an F/A-18 and F-15. In the long run having a common supply chain is more beneficial then having 4 different logistic chains for 4 different aircraft.
        Also one could make the statement that the F-4 is cheaper to maintain then the F-15 or that the A-37 is cheaper to maintain then the A-10.

        Again your stances and arguments are exceedingly hollow. Go back to playing your video games as a source for your “expertise”.

        • The multi-role F-35A is the lightest and most maneuverable of the three versions — and, at around $150 million per copy as of 2014, the — ahem — “cheapest.” Granted, that price tag is trending downward as order volume increases and Lockheed’s workers gain experience.

          The $250-million, attack-optimized F-35B includes a secondary, downward-blasting engine for short and vertical takeoffs and landings — a feature that the Marines demanded and which has added significantly to the plane’s weight, complexity and cost.

          The Navy’s F-35C — which the sailing branch primarily touts as a stealthy sensor-platform — possesses a bigger wing to allow for low-speed carrier landings and suffers from greater drag than the F-35A does. It cost a staggering $330 million per jet in 2014.

          They fly (or they think so) american people pay for it.

        • You again, let me tell you, I dont know to date, any aviation fan that do not have any kind of commercial or combat flight simulator at home, what kind of fan are you? I will ask to the moderator if they can write an article about actual flight simulators, like DCS World, MS Flight simulator X, Prepar 3D, X Plane 11, etc with interviews to pilots that have been hired to certify the flight model in each simulator, to see if you for once in your life stop talking (or writing) BS.

          https://www.quora.com/How-realistic-is-the-flight-simulation-DCS-A-10C-Warthog

      • 1. Irrelevant. It’s only the second operational LO-fighter. The first is the F-22.
        2. Wrong. We have AAR tankers.
        3. Wrong. That would ONLY occur AFTER any IADS are dealt with.
        4. Irrelevant. No foreign one are operational stealth fighters.
        5. It’s a crude, low bandwidth D/L.
        6. Wrong. Prove your claim.

    • Why can the F22 do so much more than this money pit, for so much less, for such an older airframe???

      More F22s, or more of these Emperors New Jets ??

      I wont hold me breath now !!! ;)

      • F22….awesome aircraft. But the F22 still lacks some important capabilities….such as visual identification of targets, engagement of ground targets with LGBs autonomously, video reconnaissance, video (visual) bomb damage assessment, comprehensive fast FAC (airborne) capability, comprehensive strike coordination, comprehensive CSAR coordination, HMD capability etc etc.

        The less time I checked…..the F35A is cheaper than the F22 in 2018 prices (per unit costs). Remember, the F35A is the version USAF utilizes and the F22 is an USAF only aircraft.

        • Well, USAF deserves their own proprietary platform just like USMC deserves their own proprietary camo. And so, what can we say re AOR1 and AOR2?

      • If you are an F22 pilot, perhaps holding your breath is the most survival-enhancing. Did they get that fixed? After all, if ya can’t breath, nothing else matters!

    • And Norway is all the better for buying the F35s PERIOD. How is that Gripen E going? Just achieved first flight……wow! How slow! Has it done ordnance release tests, straightened out all it avionics bugs, fully expanded its flight envelope……NOPE! At this rate Norway should receive its Gripen Es in 2030! The Gripen E is a bad choice PERIOD

  4. that’s cute!

    could help in case of monoreactor failure lol

    should be inflatable from inside to convert it into igloo.

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