The Royal Norwegian Air Force welcomed three new F-35A fighters at Ørland air station on August 24, taking its total fleet of Lockheed Martin-built Joint Strike Fighters to 37.
Norway is slated to receive six new F-35s from the factory each year, with the trio from Wednesday being the first three deliveries for this year.
The Scandinavian country received its first F-35 in November 2017.
Since the last delivery in December last year, Norway reached several milestones with the F-35, including taking over the Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) mission at Evenes from January 2022.
In February this year, two Norwegian F-35s were on their first identification mission from Evenes, while the new fighter trained alongside and escorted American bombers more recently.
According to the plan, Norway will receive a further three new F-35s this year, and will then reach 40 in number. In total, Norway will have 52 new combat aircraft. Ten of the aircraft are stationed in the United States to train and educate new F-35 pilots.
In the period leading up to 2025, the date by which the fleet is expected to be complete and fully operational, the F-35 will focus on even more joint training and integration with both its own and allied forces.
Norway recently also ordered the US Air Force’s new StormBreaker bombs for its fleet of F-35s. Built by Raytheon Missiles & Defense, the bomb uses a combination of millimeter wave active radar homing, semi-active laser guidance, infrared homing, and GPS coupled inertial guidance and data-link to strike stationary targets at 69 miles and moving targets at 45 miles.
