With the delivery of the last two F-35s, the Royal Norwegian Air Force is now the first operator to take delivery of all the aircraft on order.
The Royal Norwegian Air Force (Luftforsvaret) and Lockheed Martin announced on Apr. 1, 2025 the completion of the Scandinavian country’s order of 52 F-35A Lightning II fighters, with the last two airframes delivered to Ørland Air Base. With the airframes 5826 and 5823 landing at Ørland on Apr. 3, Norway is now the first F-35 partner nation to fulfill its program of record (PoR).
Norwegian defense authorities will mark the completion of the F-35 deliveries with a separate event at Ørland later in April, the RoNAF mentioned. The service declared the IOC (Initial Operational Capability) for its F-35A fleet on Nov. 6, 2019, just a couple of days after the second anniversary of the arrival of the first three jets in the country on Nov. 3, 2017. The first jet, tail 5087, was unveiled in RoNAF colours and markings in Sep. 2015.
Norway is among 11 European users of the aircraft. These include:
- United Kingdom (36 out of 48 F-35Bs delivered, with commitment to expand to 74 aircraft and PoR of 138 F-35s);
- Italy (29 F-35As and 10 F-35Bs delivered, PoR of 60 F-35As and 30 F-35Bs with 25 more jets announced);
- Denmark (operates 21 out of the 27 ordered);
- Netherlands (40 out of 52 F-35As, with plans announced for six more);
- Poland (four F-35A delivered out of 32)
- Belgium (first two F-35As to be delivered out of 34)
- Germany (35 F-35As on contract)
- Greece (20 F-35As on contract)
- Czech Republic (24 F-35As on contract)
- Romania (32 F-35As on contract)
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Other operators include Israel, Australia, South Korea and Japan. Turkey’s deliveries have been held back owing to a dispute over its Russian S-400 air defense system and the country was removed from the F-35 program, although a request to be readmitted has been made.
Including the largest operator, the U.S., the F-35’s global fleet of more than 1,150 airframes have surpassed a million flight hours, operating from 36 bases and 12 ships worldwide, according to Lockheed Martin’s monthly F-35 updates.
Big day for Norwegian defense
The Luftforsvaret’s statement quoted the country’s Defense Minister Tore O. Sandvik, who called the F-35 “the world’s best fighter.” The Minister further explained “The aircraft ensure that we can assert Norwegian sovereignty and maintain even better control of our areas on land, at sea and in the air.”
The Commander of the 132nd Air Wing at Ørland Air Station, Col. Ole Marius Tørrisplass, called this a “big day” for both the Air Force and the entire Norwegian Armed Forces. “The aircraft have been delivered according to schedule, with only a slight delay,” said Col. Tørrisplass. “We are very grateful to suppliers and all agencies that have contributed to making this happen. We have operated the F-35 for many years already and we are very satisfied with the development of the fighter aircraft system.”
.@NorwayAmbUSA Anniken Huitfeldt joined us to celebrate the ferry flight of two F-35As into the @Luftforsvaret fleet. @thef35 is the aircraft of choice for allies across the world, providing unmatched stealth and interoperability. pic.twitter.com/VQpzB1NTky
— Lockheed Martin (@LockheedMartin) April 3, 2025
Lockheed Martin stressed on the F-35’s “advanced capabilities and increased interoperability” with the jet’s other European users, “including its closest neighbors in the Nordic region,” playing “a critical role in protecting the High North and supporting NATO missions.”
Lockheed Martin’s Vice-President and General Manager for the F-35 program Chauncey McIntosh pointed to the “improved situational awareness” and strengthened “transatlantic security” enabled by the F-35. “We are honored to build upon our more than 50-year partnership with Norway, ensuring the Royal Norwegian Air Force remains ahead of emerging threats to protect security for Norway and its allies for decades to come.”
“As adversaries rapidly advance technology, the F-35’s unmatched connectivity and ability to work in partnership with assets operating across land, sea, air, space and cyber is essential to securing the skies today and into the future,” the Luftforsvaret added.
🇳🇴 Shaky landing for the last delivered F-35 to Norway.
The final two F-35A aircraft landed at a windy Ørland Air Station in Norway today.✈️ pic.twitter.com/dCXz7JkEnE
— Vegard Steensnæs (@N4_O13) April 3, 2025
Norwegian F-35s’ roles
Norwegian F-35As have played a vital role in NATO missions, after the Luftforsvaret’s stealth fighters officially took over the QRA (Quick Reaction Alert) duties from the F-16AM/BM fleet on Jan. 6, 2022. While the F-35s are operating from Ørland and Evenes, the RoNAF (Royal Norwegian Air Force) also unveiled in June 2024 the reactivated mountain hangar at Bardufoss Air Station, in northern Norway.
The hangar and the facilities have been deactivated for 40 years but now, given the excellent protection provided by the mountain features, they have been upgraded to allow their use today. The goal is to be able to disperse the fighters, to shelter them from standoff drone and missile strikes, and to be able to operate from multiple locations.
“Test of dispersal concept for F-35”
Royal Norwegian Air Force F-35s in the underground/mountain complex at Bardufoss Air Base.
Photo: Martin Mellquist / Forsvaret pic.twitter.com/DBAOHjLJTS
— Thord Are Iversen (@The_Lookout_N) June 13, 2024
The RNoAF’s F-35As in 2023 also started training to operate from highways and unimproved runways at dispersed locations, with two jets operating out of a road strip in Finland for the first time on Sept. 21. The Norwegian F-35s have contributed in intercepting Russian military aircraft, with the latest such action reported on the morning of Mar. 10, 2025, when two F-35As took off from Evennes to “identify and shadow” two Russian Tu-142 Bear F strategic bombers in international airspace.
This morning, two Norwegian F-35s took off from Evenes to identify and shadow two Russian Tu-142 BEAR F in international airspace. The patrol aircraft were operating off the coast of Troms, where exercise #JointViking25 takes place. Such flights are considered routine. #WeAreNATO pic.twitter.com/d7HOhEUtSn
— Norwegian Armed Forces | Forsvaret (@Forsvaret_no) March 10, 2025
F-35 delays, logistical concerns and geopolitics
Canada and Portugal recently said they are reconsidering their participation in the F-35 program over diplomatic divergence with the United States. Geopolitical disputes aside, concerns also persist over the reliance on Washington for spares, components and upgrades of the advanced jet, considerably hampering its operational capability, as we noted in an expansive analysis here at The Aviationist.
Delays and backlogs were also experienced over issues with the Technology Refresh-3 (TR-3) upgrades, meant to enable the Block 4 capabilities, leading to several jets piling up at Lockheed Martin’s facilities since July 2023. In 2023, former Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall attributed a great deal of the delay, technical and cost-overrun issues with the F-35 program to the “acquisition malpractice” as having the primary contractor Lockheed Martin to handle the bulk of the sustainment work created a “perpetual monopoly.”
