2 more F-35 fighter jets arrive in Finland

The Finnish Defence Forces' F-35A Lightning II fighter jets JF-509 and JF-511 arrived in Finland on Friday evening, said Finnish Air Force in a press release.

The fighter jets landed at the Lapland Air Wing in Rovaniemi at 5:56 pm.

With this second delivery of new fighter jets a total of four Finnish F-35s have now arrived in Finland.

The vertical stabilizers' outer surfaces of the aircraft JF-511, which arrived in Rovaniemi, feature the Bison emblem, the squadron insignia of Fighter Squadron 11.

Aircraft JF-509 departed from the Lockheed Martin factory in Fort Worth, Texas, on 20 October. The aircraft made an intermediate landing at Lajes Air Base in the Azores, Portugal, where aircraft JF-511 joined the detachment. Aircraft JF-511, which belonged to the first ferry flight detachment, had remained in the Azores in September due to a minor avionics fault to wait for the next possible ferry flight.

In addition to aerial refuelling tankers, ferry flight detachments often consist of fighters from other nations as well. Long ferry flights require aerial refuelling support, which is practical to organize for a multi-aircraft detachment.

Finland is acquiring the F-35s through the FMS (Foreign Military Sales) procedure. Under this procedure, the U.S. government accepts each aircraft at the factory, at which point ownership of the aircraft transfers to Finland, but it remains under U.S. control. The decision-making and responsibility for the planning and execution of the ferry flights rest with the United States. Finland assumes control of the aircraft once it arrives in Finland.

From now on, aircraft JF-509 and JF-511 will undergo inspections. Air Force and Defence Forces Logistics Command personnel will conduct airworthiness and acceptance inspections on all Finnish F-35 fighter jets. After passing the inspections, each aircraft will be issued with an individual certificate of airworthiness, after which they will be ready to be used for pilot training.

Earlier on September 18, the first two of Finland’s F-35A Lightning II fighter jets arrived at Lapland Air Wing in Rovaniemi.