{"id":24986,"date":"2017-11-06T20:02:21","date_gmt":"2017-11-06T20:02:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2017\/11\/06\/norway-accepts-its-first-three-f-35s\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T22:06:05","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T22:06:05","slug":"norway-accepts-its-first-three-f-35s","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2017\/11\/06\/norway-accepts-its-first-three-f-35s\/","title":{"rendered":"Norway accepts its first three F-35s"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2014 Norway welcomed its first three F-35 joint strike fighters to \u00d8rland Air Base on Nov. 3, the Norwegian government announced Saturday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The aircraft aren\u2019t the first F-35s to be delivered to Norway, as the country already has seven F-35A joint strike fighters stationed at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona, for training. However, the new jets are the first F-35s to be permanently based in Norway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The three aircraft took off from manufacturer Lockheed Martin\u2019s production facilities in Fort Worth, Texas, at 6:35 a.m. Norwegian time on Nov. 3. They landed at \u00d8rland Air Base at 3:57 p.m. the same day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maj. Gen. Morten Klever, the F-35 program director for Norway\u2019s Ministry of Defence, called the event a \u201cmajor step towards increased operational capability for the future,\u201d adding in the written statement that the Royal Norwegian Air Force looks forward to using the aircraft to train its pilots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ahead of the arrival of the first Norwegian joint strike fighter, Lockheed also made its first deliveries of F-35 simulators to international countries, including Norway, Israel, Italy and Japan, the company said Monday. The simulators will also help enable these air forces to start standing up their own domestic pipeline for pilot training instead of having to send operators to U.S. bases for instruction.<\/p>\n\n\n\t