During the day of December 9, a new milestone was confirmed by Lockheed Martin in the construction of 64 new F-35A stealth fighters for the Finnish Air Force. As reported by the U.S. company, the first test flight of the first fifth-generation aircraft to roll out of the Fort Worth, Texas, production line took place a few days ago.
At the end of 2021, the government of Finland confirmed the launch of one of its most important military equipment modernization programs, reflected in the purchase of 64 new F-35 fighters from the United States. The operation’s main objective, in addition to developing sustainment, maintenance and local production capabilities, is to replace the current F/A-18 Hornet fighters that have been in service with the Finnish Air Force (Ilmavoimat) for decades.
With this brief background, at the end of last October the completion of the assembly phase of the first F-35 was confirmed, with the aircraft leaving the Fort Worth production line to undergo the corresponding finishing work, starting the countdown toward the flight-testing and evaluation phase.
Accordingly, and as reported by Lockheed Martin, the aircraft identified with the number “JF-501” successfully carried out its first test flight on December 8, when it took off from Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth. Although no further details were confirmed, the Finnish Air Force reported that the aircraft was flown by a Lockheed Martin test pilot.
In addition, looking ahead to the next steps, the institution confirmed that on December 16 the official presentation ceremony for aircraft “JF-501” will take place at the Fort Worth facilities, marking another milestone in the program.
Subsequently, if flight tests progress positively, this aircraft is expected to be the first of a total of eight that will remain in the United States to support the training of new Finnish pilots, crews and personnel. The remaining aircraft will arrive at Rovaniemi Air Base at the end of 2026, beginning their formal induction into service and initiating the progressive replacement of the Hornets.
You may also be interested in: With the deployment of Gripen and F/A-18 fighters and 1,200 personnel, the Finnish and Swedish Air Forces put themselves to the test in Exercise Protective Fence 25
