With the arrival of four new fifth-generation F-35 Lightning II fighter jets, the Royal Danish Air Force continues favorably with the acquisition program as a replacement for its F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft. According to the official statement, the units departed from Lockheed Martin’s facilities in Texas, landing in the Danish town of Skrydstrup.
It is worth recalling that the Nordic country has so far ordered 27 units of the Lightning II, a fleet that, according to the plans of its Air Force, should be complete by the year 2027; with the first 4 aircraft delivered in 2023. Once this happens, Copenhagen intends to retire its fleet of 16AM/BM Fighting Falcon fighter-bombers, which already have a secured future with the Air Forces of Argentina and Ukraine. With this latest delivery, the Royal Danish Air Force now has 15 F-35A Lightning II fighters, while another six remain in the United States for training and instruction tasks. These units are scheduled to be delivered before the end of 2026.
However, until a few months ago, the outlook regarding the pace of deliveries was uncertain. The challenges posed by the software upgrade for the jets known as Technology Refresh 3 (TR-3) delayed deliveries on a global scale. The halt was due to the U.S. government refusing to accept the aircraft without full certification, which is expected to be completed in 2025, and which left, at least until September 2024, more than 80 proposed modifications in communications, navigation, and electronic warfare for the fighter-bomber unfinished.
It is worth remembering that a few months ago, deliveries were approved with a truncated version of the software, which allowed the resumption of aircraft deliveries from storage, as well as the initiation of pilot training with the new version of the F-35A. This last development paved the way for Denmark to begin receiving the units. The incorporation of the new batches occurred gradually, so much so that in December 2024 four units arrived, while in January 2025, the Royal Danish Air Force received another three aircraft.
Going into detail, the information available as of January highlights that currently 11 F-35A Lightning II aircraft are already operating at domestic bases, while the remaining half-dozen remain deployed at the aforementioned Luke Air Base in order to conduct the training of future pilots and engineers responsible for their maintenance.
The Royal Danish Air Force plans that, during 2025, the F-35s in question may fly various missions gradually replacing the work of their current F-16s, establishing as an operational requirement to have a minimum of two fighters permanently available for rapid deployments.
“The good collaboration between the Ministry of Defense’s Acquisition and Logistics Agency and the Air Command is laying a solid foundation for the implementation of the F-35 in its operational missions,” stated Lieutenant Colonel Casper Børge Nielsen, head of the Air Command’s Fighter Department, also known by his pilot name ‘PEL’. It is also worth noting that, as part of the first activities being carried out by the units, in March 2024 four stealth F-35 Lightning II fighters of the Royal Danish Air Force landed for the first time as part of a training exercise at a civilian airport to operate in Military Air Bases.
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