Norway receives three new F-35s, as Europeans rethink arms production

MILAN — Norway has received three new F-35A aircraft, marking the delivery of 49 fighters, with the remaining three planned to be shipped before summer, the Norwegian Defense Material Agency said.

The latest fighter jets landed in the Nordic country on Feb. 27 and will operate out of Ørland Air Station.

In the last three months alone, nine F-35s have been delivered to Norway, with the last three of the 52 on order expected to be received during the spring, the FMA, the country’s Armed Forces procurement arm, said in a statement.

“Given the complexity inherent in the development and production of fifth-generation fighter aircraft, I am very impressed by the delivery capability of the F-35 manufacturer,” Col. Tord Aslaksen, head of Norway’s fighter aircraft department in defense material air capabilities, said of manufacturer Lockheed Martin.

Issue experts have pondered the future of European F-35 fleets, given that the continent and Washington are at an important crossroads regarding the war in Ukraine and the fate of U.S. military support in NATO.

A recent report by the Washington-based Center for Policy and Analysis noted that while European F-35s provide nations with key airpower, they cannot solely make up for gaps in ground-based firepower and challenge the over-reliance on a single piece of equipment.

“Right now, European NATO lacks the integrated air and missile defense it needs for modern high-intensity warfare,” U.S. Maj. General (retired) Skip Davis, former NATO official, was quoted as saying in the report.

Estimates published by Lockheed Martin foresee that by 2035 more than 600 F-35s will be operating in Europe.

Elisabeth Gosselin-Malo was a Europe correspondent for Defense News. She covers a wide range of topics related to military procurement and international security, and specializes in reporting on the aviation sector. She is based in Milan, Italy.

米兰——挪威国防物资局表示，挪威已接收三架新的F-35A战斗机，标志着挪威接收了49架战斗机，其余三架计划在夏季之前交付。

最新一批战斗机于2月27日抵达这个北欧国家，并将从厄兰空军基地起飞作战。

挪威武装部队采购机构FMA在一份声明中表示，仅在过去三个月里，挪威就接收了9架F-35战斗机，订购的52架中的最后3架预计将于春季接收。

“考虑到第五代战斗机的研发和生产固有的复杂性，我对F-35制造商洛克希德·马丁公司的交付能力印象深刻，”挪威国防物资航空能力战斗机部门负责人托德·阿斯拉克森上校在谈到制造商洛克希德·马丁公司时说道。

鉴于欧洲大陆和华盛顿在乌克兰战争以及美国对北约的军事支持命运方面正处于一个重要的十字路口，相关问题专家一直在思考欧洲 F-35 机队的未来。

华盛顿政策与分析中心最近的一份报告指出，虽然欧洲的 F-35 为各国提供了关键的空中力量，但它们无法完全弥补地面火力方面的不足，并且对过度依赖单一装备提出了挑战。

报告援引美国退役少将、前北约官员斯基普·戴维斯的话说：“目前，欧洲北约缺乏现代高强度战争所需的综合防空和导弹防御系统。”

洛克希德·马丁公司发布的估计数据显示，到 2035 年，将有超过 600 架 F-35 战斗机在欧洲服役。

伊丽莎白·戈斯林-马洛曾任《防务新闻》欧洲通讯员。她的报道涵盖军事采购和国际安全等广泛领域，尤其擅长航空领域的报道。她常驻意大利米兰。