Four Norwegian Air Force F-35 fighter aircraft have arrived at Keflavik Air Base, Iceland.
The aircraft are now preparing to for the NATO mission providing intercept capabilities for the country.
NATO say that this is the first NATO mission abroad for Norway’s modern fighter aircraft after reaching initial operational capability in November 2019.
“The fact that our F-35s can show operational capability in a NATO mission abroad is an important milestone towards full operational capability in 2025,” said Chief of the Norwegian Air Force, Major General Tonje Skinnarland in a news release.
The Air Policing mission in Iceland is similar to the one carried out by the Norwegian F-16 Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) interceptors from Bodø in northern Norway.
“The arrival of the jets marked the start of the three-week deployment of some 130 military and civilian personnel; Norwegian Control and Reporting Centre (CRC) personnel will be working alongside their Icelandic Coast Guard colleagues in the CRC at Keflavik Air Base. Norway has manned the mission in 2009, 2011, 2014 and 2016 with their F-16 fighter aircraft.
NATO member Iceland ensures constant air surveillance within NATO’s Integrated Air and missile Defence System including production of the Recognised Air Picture for the airspace over Iceland and the North Atlantic. However, the Ally does not have its own military capabilities to conduct Air Policing. Therefore, since mid-2008 the Alliance has provided periodic peacetime deployments of fighter assets to meet Iceland’s operational needs.”
Since the beginning of the NATO mission ten Allies (Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom and the United States) have manned the regular peacetime deployment.
As the NATO air surveillance radars in Iceland are being upgraded this year, the Canadian Air Force has deployed its mobile radar system to Iceland with crew of 30 to operate the system, according to the Alliance.
Is this just stock picture? Why the parachute? I do not see any snow or ice
Weird since Norway declared in Oct 2019 that the F35 braking chute does not meet reliability requirements
https://www.tu.no/artikler/bremseskjermene-pa-de-norske-f-35-er-ikke-palitelige-nok-og-ma-modifiseres/476363
maybe something as daft as a short runway/busy runway, so using the drogue for rapid slowing and moving from main runway to a siding?
LT here’s the video of the landing:
https://twitter.com/Luftforsvaret/status/1230559923307601921
Thx Farouk ?
It’s a Norwegian requirement incase they have to land on icy runways. The F16’s also have a chute.
I know, even seen it on Typhoon. But it us rather rare when they use them
The very least of our worries it appears. “British F-35Bs deploying to the South China Sea next year may not meet key reliability metrics set by an American government watchdog, its annual report has revealed. The US Department of Defense’s Director of Operational Test and Evaluation (DOTE) warned that the multinational F-35B fighter jet fleet is lagging behind a key flight-hours metric needed to show maintenance maturity. On top of that, the supersonic stealth jet project’s move towards Agile methodology for “minimum viable product” (MVP)-phased development of critical flight and weapons software every six months is a “high risk” strategy,… Read more »
After recent deployments to RAF Akrotiri, Italy, Red Flag in Nevada for 3 weeks and 3 deployments to the QE for trails, and and the North Sea, I’d say the Britsh F35B’s seem to be holding up just fine. Maybe concentrate on the positive aspects of delivering this first class capability to the RAF/RN.
Personally, I’d prefer to point out Pilot Safety concerns rather than a few trips abroad Robert. As for the first-class capability? not until Block 4 software in installed now looking like 2025/6 at the earliest. Block 4 will support Stormbreaker smart glide bomb, ASRAAM and Meteor missiles, plus Kongsberg/Raytheon’s Joint Strike Missile. “Meanwhile, the Pentagon is planning a major patch for F-35 software and hardware called Block 4 that will add or fix fifty-three capabilities—including nine capabilities planned to be in Block IIIF, but which were deferred due to implementation challenges. These include major performance upgrades and new weapons integration,… Read more »
I think the RAF/RN will be on top of pilot safety don’t you Nigel. 48 is the first tranche, I expect the defense review will decide how many more F35B’s we purchase. ASRAAM And AMRAAM and Paveway 4 are already integrated. Meteor and Spear 3 will be next for British F35. Software drops are expensive for all fast jets, not just F35. The latest centurion upgrade for Typhoon wasn’t exactly cheap.
Two of each I presume in stealth mode for ASRAAM And AMRAAM? “Lockheed Martin has developed a new weapons rack, Sidekick, that can cram a third AMRAAM missile into each of the F-35’s weapons bays. An F-35 equipped with Sidekick can thus carry a total of six AMRAAMs. Sidekick can fit in the Air Force’s F-35A and Navy F-35C, but the Marines’ vertical takeoff and landing variant, the F-35B has slightly smaller bays that can’t accommodate the new system. Sidekick was developed internally within Lockheed Martin on the company dime. However, it is not yet scheduled to go onto production… Read more »
Next you will be saying we need an other 500 of them and 1000 tanks and 6 more aircraft carriers all paid for out of the magic everlasting porrige pot.
You’ve lost me on that one Trevor? My money would be on additional funding for Tempest. By the time this aircraft reaches any sort of potential, we will most likely see the next-gen aircraft taking to the skies including UCAVs. Sadly we have tied ourselves in with this aircraft, so the fewer the better as far as I’m concerned. The MOD is refusing to say what the actual cost per aircraft is, so that should give you a clue. I would suggest you read the full report! Lockheed Martin also informed the Committee that following the completion of the SDD… Read more »
By the time this aircraft reaches any sort of potential?? This aircraft has capability in spades, today, in 2020. Have you chosen to ignore every article or word the RAF and RN is saying about this aircraft. Yes it’s expensive, yes, it will have continual upgrades, but look how long it took Typhoon to release it’s full potential, and still has alot more to come. Tempest will be a fantastic project, and will probably start replacing Typhoon from 2040 onwards. But F35 will be around for another 4 or 5 decades to come. This years edition of the RAF 2020… Read more »
Bottom line, Uncle Sam wants his money back and somebody has to pay. The more the merrier! The program has drawn much scrutiny and criticism for its unprecedented size, complexity, ballooning costs, and much-delayed deliveries. The decision to start buying the plane while it was still in development and testing led to expensive design changes and retrofits.[11] By 2014, the program was “US$163 billion over budget [and] seven years behind schedule”.[12] Critics contended that the high sunk costs and politics made the F-35 “too big to kill”. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_Martin_F-35_Lightning_II “The test reports Defense News obtained also reveal a second, previously little-known… Read more »
Well the USAF F35A demo team is pulling some pretty bam hard manoeuvres at 9G, and definitely exceeding 20 degrees angle of attack. So was the RAF F35B practicing over Marham last week. While the programme has definitely had it’s troubles and cost over runs ( name a fighter project that hasn’t) you seem to have a child like dislike of this aircraft, and the game changing capability it will bring to the RAF and carrier strike, which everyone who is involved with the project is very quick to acknowledge. You can see the sheer enthusiasm for this aircraft from… Read more »
Childlike Robert? Merely stating facts rather than fiction backed up with actual evidence to support it rather than just my opinion. The moment you get personal Robert rather than proving your point, you’ve lost! “In 2010, the ballooning costs — which put the cost per plane more than 89 percent over the baseline estimate — triggered a breach of the Nunn-McCurdy Act, a law that forces the Pentagon and Congress to evaluate whether to cancel a troubled program. But because the F-35 was intended to replace so many legacy fighter jets, military leaders essentially had no choice but to keep… Read more »
And so the list of deficiencies continues into the next decade. The Pentagon has issued a restriction order for Lot 9 and newer Lockheed Martin F-35A Joint Strike Fighters after the discovery of cracks in the aircraft’s stealth coating following use of the 25mm gun. Behler’s report into the F-35 program stated, “Although the program is working to fix deficiencies, new discoveries are still being made, resulting in only a minor decrease in the overall number of deficiencies. “There are many significant deficiencies that should be addressed to ensure the System Development and Demonstration (SDD) baseline configuration is stable prior… Read more »
At least some good news finally on this topic, apart from incurring additional costs that is, a further two fixes have been found that should fix this problem. Thank god we have such a large defence budget eh! “It was a hot day aboard the amphibious assault ship Essex when a pilot brought his F-35B in for what is known as a “mode four” flight operation, where the jet enters hover mode near a landing spot, slides over to the target area and then vertically lands onto the ship. It’s a key part of the F-35B’s short-takeoff-and-vertical-landing capability, known as… Read more »
The other future option for high ambient temperature landings would be the short rolling vertical landing (STVL). The SRVL uses. Wing lift to offset the sink rate, thereby allowing either a more controlled “normal” landing or allowing the aircraft to return with a heavier all up weight. All F35Bs will have the software for this procedure. The issue for the USMC is their smaller gator carriers and how they park aircraft on the deck. With SRVL you need a clear runway. The MC currently park aircraft on the bow, so this would need to change. With the expected deployment of… Read more »
Expect all you are doing is sharing other peoples opinions. You don’t have to travel far around the internet to find somthing negative about the F35 if you already feel that way about the aircraft. Plenty of people with there own Interests in Congress or the US military and the media will tell you what you want to hear. I’m not saying at all that the project doesn’t have problems to over come. But I base my opinions on what the people who fly the thing, and operate it have to say about it. Which is overwhelmingly positive. My experience… Read more »
Not a great deal by the look of it apart from endless costs and further delays. Feb 6 2020 “The Pentagon’s weapons tester has concerns about the F-35’s new software development process. Robert Behler, the Pentagon’s independent weapons tester, characterizes the current schedule for C2D2 as “high risk” and said the program office is struggling to stay on schedule, he said in an annual report published Jan. 30 by the Operational Test and Evaluation Office. “The current Continuous Capability Development and Delivery (C2D2) process has not been able to keep pace with adding new increments of capability as planned,” the… Read more »
Link attached.
https://www.defensenews.com/air/2020/02/06/the-pentagons-weapons-tester-has-concerns-about-the-f-35s-new-software-development-process/
I find it quiet comical that you ignore what our own extremely proffesional service men and women who actually fly and maintain the aircraft say about it’s capabilitys, and what it brings to the UK Armed Forces. The UK Typhoon/F35 mix will be deadly one. My advice to you Nigel. Don’t believe everything you read on the intenet, it will only feed what you want it to say. Especally from 2nd rate defence news websites, and disgruntled Congress men who don’t have the factory in there state. maybe read what the RAF/RN are saying about it, you might actually learn… Read more »
I much prefer to hear it from the horse’s mouth including the UK Governments Defence Select Committee, DOD and DOT&E as they are far more likely to possess the facts and figures along with the current and growing fault list. “The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II has 873 unresolved deficiencies and new problems are being discovered regularly, making reducing the number of issues with the aircraft difficult. That’s the conclusion of the latest scathing assessment of the stealth fighter from the Annual Report for the US Department of Defense’s (DoD) Office of the Director of Operational Test & Evaluation (DOT&E),… Read more »
So RAF Fighter pilots aren’t horses mouth enough for you. Like I said, I know the project has problems, and a long way to go. But fundamentally, this aircraft is a game changer in capability. What is it exactly you don’t like about it Nigel ? Apart from the cost over runs and delays, just like every single fighter that has been made it off the drawing board. It’s taken 17 years to get Typhoon to be the aircraft we have today. Is It not pretty enough for you? Doesn’t do back flips at airshows? Can’t you understand what this… Read more »
“do you fundamentally know something the RAF/RN, MOD, BAE Systems doesn’t? I think they like me are well aware of the problems and if you understood what I have been pointing out so would you. So much for partnering with Typhoon at the moment or can you ask your friends if this has addressed? This is particularly the case as the UK has no capability to convert advanced low probability-of-intercept waveforms such as the Multifunction Advanced Data Link (MADL) “into Link 16 format for transmission to non-stealthy assets”. The US, by contrast, is using a Battlefield Airborne Communications Node (BACN)… Read more »
As for the F/18 Super Hornet, how much longer the F35’s stealth will remain an advantage and building 3000 airframes, try reading this, its a real eye-opener!
https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/how-replace-f-35-meet-advanced-super-hornet-us-navy-60242
3000 aircraft? I doubt it sadly. The F35-B has a shorter range than the F-35 C I understand. After years of churn, the service is in the midst of a wide-ranging evaluation of its fleet design and future capabilities that will shape the service’s force structure. The evaluation pays particular attention to unmanned systems, unlike previous efforts. In particular, the Navy doubled down on investment for unmanned surface vehicles as part of its Fiscal Year 2020 budget submission. However, the Navy has lagged in the development of a next-generation, carrier-based combatant since it abandoned a planned unmanned, low-observable strike aircraft… Read more »
Maybe that’s why 41 sqn has been over in nevada with the F35 for such interoperability work. You still didnt answere my question as to why you don’t like the F35 so much? And don’t quote another article.
The answer to your question Robert is this, survivability and ability to operate over long ranges. The advantages of stealth are already being challenged. No serious analyst has ever claimed stealth makes an aircraft invisible to radar, only that it radically reduces its detection range. Stealth fighters can be detected at certain points on the electromagnetic spectrum however targeting them is a bit more difficult at the present time. Ten years from now Russia or China may well have the technology to lock on to a Fifth-generation aircraft. Just an example. Sept 20 2019 “TwInvis could be part of a… Read more »
I forgot to add:
China’s DF-26B designed to attack moving warships out to a range of 2000 miles, in numbers.
Seel link attached below.
Understanding why America is modernising and upgrading its long-range capability both in terms of aircraft and missiles shows the future threats posed by near-peer countries are very real.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/sebastienroblin/2019/08/07/army-will-soon-begin-testing-precision-strike-missiles-for-a-post-inf-world/
ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China 2019 They also seek to complete military modernization by 2035 and become a “world-class” military by the second centenary goal of 2049. See page 13 of the attached report. The threat posed by China is not as far away from our shores as we might like to think. In “Special Topic: China in the Arctic,” China has increased activities and engagement in the Arctic region since gaining observer status on the Arctic Council in 2013. China published an Arctic Strategy in January 2018 that promoted a… Read more »
I would seriously question the ability of anyone to target a moving warship from a range of 2000 miles, even 200 miles. People seriously understimate the difficulty and complexity of engaging warships at range. Aircraft carriers my be large, but the ocean is vast. I took part In large scale multi national exercises, and the bad guys couldn’t even find the ship, let alone target it from range, and that was with the Americans playing as the bad guys. And there won’t be any 6th gen aircraft entering service in 2027, maybe, just maybe a technology demonstrator might be flying… Read more »
“I would seriously question the ability of anyone to target a moving warship from a range of 2000 miles, even 200 miles.” 2000 miles I would agree with, but not 200 miles. “TEAM TEMPEST TEST AIRCRAFT The RAF have announced that they have awarded a contract to Leonardo to provide a large-body test aircraft as part of the Team Tempest initiative. Team Tempest is a co-funded partnership between the RAF’s Rapid Capabilities Office and UK Industry (BAE Systems, Leonardo UK, MBDA UK and Rolls-Royce). The demonstrator will take the form of a modified Boeing 757 which will be used to… Read more »
The thing is, these 4.5 gen aircraft are still less capable then the F35. So we would be buying a less capable aircraft, no 1st day of war capability, and robbing our defence industry of the huge value and work the F35 brings to the UK as the only tier 1 partner. And even if we accelerate the Tempest project, that still 15 plus years away. And add into that a interm buy of say F18’s to fill the gap, and our limited defence budget has been stretched even further, and we will have a less capable aircraft for the… Read more »
If we cancelled the F35 and replaced them with F/A-18 –Block III how would that incur more cost to us above the 48 we have already agreed to buy? It’s cheaper. The MOD will not even disclose the actual price to the Defence Select Committee. And as you say, we already have Typhoon which we could increase in numbers. “China is still building copied Russian technology” US National Security Adviser John Bolton recently accused China of stealing US technology to make a stealth fighter, a charge Beijing has denied. On a visit to Ukraine last week, Bolton said an unnamed… Read more »
How would incur more cost?? Are you for real! Buy a another fighter from scratch, training, I infrastructure at Marham, spares, logistics, do you not understand the basic time frames to introduce a new aircraft type. And yeah lets buy a less capable aircraft. Great idea Nigel. Are we going to build any F18’s in the UK? No, of course not. So the RAF and Navy, will have a less capable aircraft, another 5 plus years with no aircraft to put on the QE class, huge cost to fit cats n traps. Thousands of defence jobs put at risk due… Read more »
Going off on a tangent Robert,
I never suggested buying them in the first place, you did.
Read what I wrote and understand it before commenting.
YOUR POST
“And add into that a interm buy of say F18’s to fill the gap, and our limited defence budget has been stretched even further”
My point is, 48 F35 B that’s it until we find a better solution.
Do try and keep up Robert!
Oh, by the way lol, enjoy the video!
Royal Navy F/A-18 Exchange Pilots (2012)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Fbn5VbcHYw
Nice vid, I do like the looks of the twin seat Hornet.
The solution is more F35B’s, and further development of Typhoon, and Tempest from 2040. Get your head in reality Nigel. The F35 is going to be in service for the next 40-50 years. It brings capabilitys to the UK and its’ allies that we have never had before. New levels of survivability and situational awareness, we have only scratched the surface of what this aircraft will be able to do. 12 countries have it on order or in service, 3100 planned to be built. That’s alot of very clever people who are going to agree with me, and not with… Read more »
“The solution is more F35B’s” have to disagree clearly.
“Typhoon, and Tempest” I’ve been advocating for this on many occasions, including Gripen E/F as a Tier 2 option depending on the budget constraints. Currently over £7 Billion and counting.
“Get your head in reality Nigel.” It is, hence my concerns in regard to this programme.
Clearly it isn’t when you’re talking about Gripen
At half the cost of Typhoon and as a Tier 2 aircraft, I’d say you would be greatly underestimating its capabilities. Try doing your homework first before posting! Eurofighter Typhoon: Maximum speed: Mach 2 range: 1,390 km ferry range: 3,790 km Hardpoints 13 including 1x 1000 litre fuel tank Supercruise: Yes Gripen E: Mach 2 Range: 1,500 km combat range, and 4,000 km ferry range Supercruise: Yes Hardpoints: 10 Gripen can take off AND land in 600m, be refuelled and rearmed in ten minutes by 1 technician and 5 conscripts, and can operate from country roads; whereas it takes the… Read more »
Sorry, I forgot to add! Eurofighter Typhoon G Rating Limits: +9/-3 Gripen E G Rating Limits: +9/-3 “Arguably its most important attribute is the innovative concept applied in the design of its systems architecture, in which flight-critical components are segregated from mission systems. This partition permits the insertion of new mission capabilities without the need for expensive and time-consuming requalification of flight-critical aspects. As a direct result, technology and weapons updates can be inserted rapidly as they emerge, and on a rolling basis. Conversely, most other types typically undergo occasional midlife upgrades that add packages of updates simultaneously, with a… Read more »
This isn’t top trumps Nigel. The Gripen is fine aircraft, but it’s no Typhoon. And we aren’t going to buy it, so what’s the point in biging it up.
“Typhoon, and Tempest” I’ve been advocating for this on many occasions, including Gripen E/F as a Tier 2 option depending on the budget constraints. Currently over £7 Billion and counting. In response to your reply Robert. “Clearly it isn’t when you’re talking about Gripen” As I keep saying, do try to keep up I’m simply showing you the facts rather than posting an idiotic comment in reply. Do you understand what an option means Robert? (a thing that is or may be chosen.) “And we aren’t going to buy it” Neither you nor I are in a position to make… Read more »
The option Nigel, is more F35’s. We are never in a million years going to buy the Gripen. If the MOD found a few extra billion down the back of the sofa, and decided to spend it on more fast jets, they would buy more Typhoons or F35’s. Never Gripen. I served in Fleet Air Arm for 14 years. You, clearly couldn’t even find your local careers office. You are the classic arm chair admiral, all the talk, none of the common sense and experience. Until the next thread Nigel. Good day.
“The arrival of the jets marked the start of the three-week deployment of some 130 military and civilian personnel”
Are all Icelandic deployments so short?
I wonder if a feasibility study has been done to explore whether a drogue could be adapted for use on civilian jets where short runways exclude the use of certain aircraft types?
…or am I being doff(Safrican for stupid) seeing as they also have to take off(rocket assisted 🙂