Finland presents first F-35s as transition to operational service begins

The Finnish Air Force formally presented its first two Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II fighters at an arrival ceremony at the Lapland Air Wing in Rovaniemi on October 1, 2026, 13 days after the aircraft landed in Finland. 

The jets, JF-510 and JF-512, touched down at Rovaniemi Airport (RVN) at 17:45 local time on September 18, 2026, after a transatlantic ferry flight flown by US Air Force pilots. 

A third aircraft, JF-511, stayed behind in the Azores with an avionics fault. The Finnish Air Force said that it would be flown to Finland with the next group of aircraft during the autumn. 

First Finnish F-35 flight over Finland 

About 400 invited guests and media representatives attended the ceremony, according to the Finnish Defense Forces, including President Alexander Stubb, Minister of Defense Antti Häkkänen and US Ambassador to Finland Howard W. Brodie. 

The program included the first F-35 flight in Finland by a Finnish pilot, flown by Lieutenant Colonel Jaakko Sointu. 

Major General Timo Herranen, Commander of the Finnish Air Force, drew a distinction between receiving the aircraft and making them operational. 

“We will not confuse arrival with readiness,” he said. “Arrival is just the beginning of the work.” 

Finland has now received ten of the 64 F-35As it ordered. Eight are temporarily stationed at Ebbing Air National Guard Base, Arkansas, where Finnish pilots and maintainers are training on the type. Those aircraft, JF-501 through JF-508, have supported training since JF-501 arrived at Ebbing in January 2026, a month after its rollout in Fort Worth, Texas. 

Training shifts from the US to Finland 

Initial training in the US will continue until early 2028, the Finnish Defense Forces stated. 

Maintenance training is due to begin in Rovaniemi before the end of 2026, followed by pilot training in January 2027. Finnish instructors trained in the US will work alongside personnel from the United States, Norway and Denmark during the transition. 

The arrival of the first aircraft in Finland therefore marks the beginning of a new phase in the program, as training and support activities progressively move from the US to Finnish bases. 

Initial operational capability in 2028 

Finnish Air Force F-35A JF-510 at Rovaniemi Airport in Finland. (Credit: Lockheed Martin)The Lapland Air Wing is scheduled to reach initial operational capability in early 2028, at which point it will operate only the F-35. 

The Karelia Air Wing is due to receive its first F-35s during 2028, while full operational capability across the Finnish Air Force is planned by the end of 2030. 

Until then, deliveries will continue and Finland’s F/A-18 Hornet and F-35A fleets will operate in parallel. 

Some upgrades will arrive later still. In April 2026, Henrik Elo, director of Finland’s F-35 program, announced that Finland would fund Block 4 retrofits at its own expense as the delayed modernization package becomes available. 

Patria begins F-35 fuselage production in Finland 

The program is also developing an industrial footprint in Finland. 

Finnish defense manufacturer Patria has become the first company other than Lockheed Martin to produce the F-35 forward fuselage, with assembly beginning at its Halli facility in Jämsä in early March 2026. 

The framework covers production of 400 forward fuselage and landing gear door sets through 2042. The post Finland presents first F-35s as transition to operational service begins appeared first on AeroTime.

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