Four F-35Bs of 617 Squadron have deployed to Iceland to begin a NATO Air Policing deployment, the first ever deployment of its type for the F-35 in British service.
The NATO Icelandic Air Policing mission dates back to 2007, put in place following the end of a permanent U.S. Air Force fighter presence in the country, which does not have its own air force. Various NATO nations have taken turns to deploy fighter aircraft to the joint civilian-military airfield at Keflavik, around 30 miles from the capital city of Reykjavik.
617 Squadron’s F-35Bs have assumed the mission from the U.S. Air Force’s 492nd Fighter Squadron, whose F-15E Strike Eagles have been stationed at the base since June. Prior to this, four F-35As were provided by the Royal Norwegian Air Force.
This makes the UK the second nation to deploy the F-35B variant on the Icelandic Air Policing mission, after Italy augmented its four F-35As with two F-35Bs during their 2022 detachment as the existing support element in place provided an opportunity for cold climate training.
For the UK, the decision to send F-35Bs rather than the more usual Typhoons is a chance to demonstrate the stealth fighter’s multirole abilities. While the aircraft do maintain an air defence role when stationed aboard the Royal Navy’s two aircraft carriers, the UK’s homeland air defence is provided exclusively by Typhoon FGR4s, and these have always been used for prior air policing missions.
The Typhoon fleet inherited this responsibility from Tornado F3s retired in 2011. In comparison, the aircraft replaced, either in full or in part, by the F-35B, like the Harrier GR9 and Tornado GR4, lacked significant air-to-air capabilities and were not ideally suitable for air policing deployments.
The RAF’s most recent deployment to Iceland with Typhoons was in 2019, where 180 practice intercepts were made and 59 training sorties flown. Alongside various air policing deployments, the RAF Typhoon force has also had to maintain a standing deployment to RAF Akrotiri on the island of Cyprus for Operation Shader – the UK’s counter-ISIS effort – since 2015. By making the Lightning force available for air policing missions, some strain on the Typhoon fleet can be lessened.
Speaking in his role as Minister for the Armed Forces, Member of Parliament Luke Pollard said: “The UK is unshakeable in its commitment to NATO. With threats increasing and growing Russian aggression, it is vital that we stand shoulder to shoulder with our allies… …This latest air policing mission in Iceland displays the UK’s ability to operate and deter our adversaries across the alliance’s airspace.”.
Group Captain John Butcher, Commander of the UK’s Lightning Force, which now comprises two frontline squadrons, one training squadron, and one development squadron, further remarked: “This will be the first time that the Lightning Force has deployed to contribute to NATO Air Policing, and will no doubt once again prove the flexibility that this platform offers as it demonstrates its capability to operate from both a land and maritime environment.”
Iceland’s strategic position in the North Atlantic, as part of the Greenland-Iceland-UK (GIUK) gap, makes it a valuable but also vulnerable NATO member state. Airspace incursions by Russian military aircraft following the withdrawal of U.S. Air Force F-15s from Keflavik in 2006 spurred the creation of the NATO air policing mission, and Russian military aircraft continue to be intercepted off the Icelandic coasts.
20 SEP: The approximate routing of 2x Tu-22M3 aircraft – RNoAF F16s EG01 flight and Icelandic Air Policing USAF F-15s scrambled to intercept pic.twitter.com/Po5a54JbYo
— Mil Radar (@MIL_Radar) September 21, 2017
Keflavik has never been a stranger to military operations, having been constructed during the Second World War for United States military use, though in the post Cold War era there was a lull in its utility. When the permanently based F-15s left much of the US’ other based units did so along with them, putting the US-run base into mothballed status. The airfield, though, did remain open as the base for NATO air policing, and as Reykjavik’s second airport.
It wasn’t until 2015, after the Russian invasion of Crimea and uptick in long range Russian Air Force and Russian Navy operations that the base was fully reactivated. While no permanently based fighters returned to Iceland, it has become a significant hub for NATO maritime patrol aircraft and even, more recently, US strategic bombers. P-8 Poseidons operating from Keflavik monitor not only local waters and GIUK gap, but also the Baltic region and Barents Sea.
USN P-8 Poseidon heading back after spending 6hrs over Baltic Sea, with a second P-8 up from Keflavik to replace it. pic.twitter.com/TNC0Pq69vY
— RivetJoint (@SpeckleBelly64) December 19, 2022
On two occasions, in 2021 and 2023, U.S. Air Force B-2 Spirit strategic stealth bombers have forward deployed to Keflavik for Bomber Task Force exercises. These came after a brief stopover by a B-2 in 2019. These deployments are somewhat out of the ordinary for the B-2 force, who usually operate from airfields specifically equipped to care for the stealth aircraft’s delicate radar-absorbent material coating.
While many of the deployments to Iceland are operational ones, the combination of different assets from different nations in one area also presents good opportunities for joint training exercises. B-2s deployed to RAF Fairford, UK, in 2020 flew to Iceland and joined with F-15Cs from RAF Lakenheath and F-35As that were deployed by Norway on the Icelandic air policing mission to conduct integration and interoperability training.
