The first F-35 Lightning II for the Finnish Air Force, the JF-501, is now in production and is scheduled for deployment in 2025. Finland has selected the F-35 in 2021 to replace the F/ A-18, ordering 64 aircraft.

During a visit At the Lockheed Martin factory in Fort Worth, Texas, United States, on October 28, 2024, retired Finnish Air Force Colonel and current Finnish F-35 program director Henrik Elo signed his name on the bulkhead of what would become the JF-501, Finland’s first F-35. -Lightning II 35A cell.

The main components of the JF-501 will soon be assembled using the electronic mating and alignment system before reaching the final assembly stage. The electronic mating and alignment system uses a complex array of lasers and sensors to precisely align and assemble the front fuselage, mid-fuselage, wing section and tail section of each F- 35.

The airframe is expected to be completed in the fall of 2025, after which it will roll out of the factory and be officially handed over to the Finnish Air Force. Rather than heading directly to Finland, the first Finnish F-35s’ next stop will be Ebbing Air National Guard Base, Arkansas, where a training unit will be trained.

Finnish F-35s

Finland has ordered 64 of the conventional takeoff and landing variant of the F-35A to replace its current F/A-18C/D Hornets fighter forcebeating competition from Boeing’s F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and Saab’s Gripen E/F.

The Finnish Air Force ordered its Hornets in 1992, with approximately 55 F/A-18Cs and 7 F/A-18Ds remaining in service today of the total 64 ordered. Notably, this means that the F-35 order is, taking into account attrition, an equal replacement in terms of numbers, unlike many countries which have ordered fewer F-35s than jets that they replace.

All Finnish F-35s will be delivered equipped with Technology Update Package 3 (TR-3). The TR-3 is a major electronic upgrade for the F-35, offering higher processing power and an open architecture philosophy that will enable faster and simpler integration of future technologies, sensors and weapon systems on this guy.

Speaking at the Fort Worth factoryHenrik Elo highlighted the symbolic but important milestone of the delivery of his country’s new aircraft: “I am very pleased that we are progressing in the construction of the different capability areas of our F-35 as planned. The forward fuselage signing event is a minor but symbolically important step in the manufacturing process of the aircraft fleet.

According to the current schedule, Finland will see its first delivery of F-35s land at Rovaniemi Airport by the end of 2026. There they will join HävLLv 11 (11th Squadron) of the Lapland Air Wing, which guards the airspace from northern Finland. territory. Karelia Air Wing, based at Kuopio Airport in southeastern Finland, will receive its F-35s from 2028.

These bases, which are the only two full-time operational fighter bases in Finland, are both about 100 kilometers from the Russian border and are ideally placed to launch fighters for interception tasks over the Russian territory. Barents And Baltic Seas. With Finland’s recent membership in NATO, the nation has taken an active role in the development of the alliance. joint air defense initiatives and this integration will likely continue in the future.

The involvement of national industry

If the vast majority of Finnish Hornets were assembled locally by the Finnish public manufacturer Patria, this will not be the case for the F-35. Although final airframe assembly will take place in the United States, Patria will join the global supply chain by establishing a factory to produce F-35 forward fuselage sections and landing gear doors. According to Petri Hépolaprogram director at Patria for the F-35, this will be the first international F-35 facility producing forward fuselage sections. Parts produced by Patria will be shipped to the Fort Worth factory for integration into Finnish F-35s as well as F-35s of other countries.

Patria also signed an agreement with Pratt & Whitney, producer of the F-35’s F135 engine, to produce engines locally in a Nokia facility from 2025. This will become a platform for the maintenance, repair, overhaul and upgrade of F135 engines from 2030.

Modification of the drag chute

When the JF-501 is handed over, Finland will become the thirteenth country to take delivery of the fifth-generation fighter and, based on current orders, will eventually become the fifth largest operator of the type. Finland will join a small selection of F-35 operators using the drag chute modification developed by and currently unique to the Royal Norwegian Air Force. Only Norway, Finland and Canada have so far confirmed having chosen this option, due to their cold climate. The drag chute, which is housed in a small fairing between the two rear fins of the aircraft, is designed to assist braking on potentially icy tracks.

Interesting: The Finnish Air Force F-35 model is equipped with a drag chute fairing (also seen on Norwegian F-35As). Some info on the drag chute here: pic.twitter.com/a2UNIt7BQm

– The Aviationist (@TheAviationist) June 15, 2024

Although any external fairing will affect the F-35’s stealth characteristics to some extent, Lockheed Martin says the drag parachute system has been designed to minimize its impact on the aircraft’s overall radar cross section (RCS). In any case, as for F-35 flying with external loadsRCS would still be lower than a previous generation fighter in a similar configuration.

Notably, although the base was chosen to test the drag parachute modification, U.S. Air Force F-35s at Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, are not equipped with this feature. Two units, the 355th and 356th Fighter Squadrons, operate a total of 54 F-35As from the Alaska base. The collocated F-16 squadron which also falls under the 354th Fighter Wing recently underwent a new designation from the 18th Aggressor Squadron to the 18th Fighter Interceptor Squadron.

The 18th FIS, newly renamed, was soon seen undertaking protective exits in the air defense identification zone (ADIZ) monitor Russian activity in and around the Bering Sea. The F-16s share ADIZ duties in Alaska with the F-22 Raptors at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, which, with the increased frequency of intercepts in recent years, have undoubtedly appreciated this support. Having the F-16s to replace the Elmendorf Raptors on alert missions also allowed the F-22s, a rare resource in the US Air Force, to deploy in detachments abroad without affecting the country’s air defense.

Increased Russian activity is of course also present in the European theater, particularly after the invasion of Ukraine. This will be one of the special reasons why Finland is eagerly awaiting the entry into service of its F-35s.