Denmark flies home more F-35s for patrols to buffer upgrade delays

PARIS — Denmark repatriated three more F-35 Joint Strike Fighters it had been using for pilot training in the U.S., finalizing a workaround to delivery delays by Lockheed Martin, after the Nordic country already flew home four aircraft in an older configuration in December.

The jets landed at Denmark’s Skrydstrup Air Base on Sunday after a trans-Atlantic flight from Luke Air Force Base in Arizona, with a stopover in the Azores, the Defence Ministry said in a statement Monday. That brings the local F-35 fleet to 11 aircraft, and a major step this year will be for the stealth fighters to partially take over air-policing duties from the country’s aging F-16 jets.

Lockheed Martin deliveries of F-35 jets were delayed last year due to issues with the so-called Technology Refresh 3, or TR-3, upgrade. That left Denmark scrambling for options to meet F-35 rollout milestones and expand its locally based fleet beyond four aircraft, eventually prompting a decision in June to fly the country’s training aircraft home.

“The major milestone for the Air Force in 2025 is that the F-35 will occasionally be able to replace the F-16s in the task of maintaining denial readiness,” the ministry said. “The F-35 will thus be able to handle the task of having two aircraft ready to take off in minutes and repel foreign aircraft approaching Danish airspace.”

A total of 17 fighters have now been delivered to Denmark as scheduled, according to the ministry, including six F-35s from the production line in Fort Worth, Texas, to replace the training aircraft at Luke Air Force Base. While Lockheed Martin resumed delivery of F-35s in the TR-3 configuration last year, the new jets remain limited to training duties for now.

Denmark has a total 27 aircraft on order, and the plan is for the F-35 to gradually take over all the tasks from the F-16s in coming years. The government has said the remaining aircraft will be delivered in the TR-3 configuration towards 2027.

Lockheed Martin’s TR-3 upgrade of the F-35, originally planned for summer 2023, includes improved cockpit displays and more on-board computing power, and is supposed to serve as the basis for a further upgrade known as Block 4 that adds weapon and electronic-warfare capabilities.

The Defence Ministry said in June the F-35 situation wasn’t expected to affect the donation of F-16s to Ukraine.

Rudy Ruitenberg is a Europe correspondent for Defense News. He started his career at Bloomberg News and has experience reporting on technology, commodity markets and politics.

巴黎——丹麦从美国收回了三架用于飞行员训练的F-35联合攻击战斗机，最终解决了洛克希德·马丁公司交付延误的问题。此前，这个北欧国家已于去年12月将四架老款配置的F-35战斗机运回国。

丹麦国防部周一发表声明称，这批F-35战机周日从亚利桑那州卢克空军基地经停亚速尔群岛后，跨大西洋飞行抵达丹麦斯克里德斯特鲁普空军基地。这使得丹麦本土的F-35机队规模达到11架。今年的一项重要举措是，这些隐形战机将部分取代该国老旧的F-16战机，承担空中警戒任务。

去年，由于所谓的“技术升级3”（TR-3）升级出现问题，洛克希德·马丁公司交付的F-35战机被推迟。这使得丹麦不得不紧急寻找其他方案，以满足F-35的部署里程碑，并扩充其本土机队，使其规模超过四架。最终，丹麦在6月份决定将该国的训练机全部撤回国内。

国防部表示：“2025年，空军的一个重要里程碑是F-35战机将能够偶尔取代F-16战机，执行维持拒止战备的任务。届时，F-35战机将能够承担在几分钟内两架战机准备起飞，并击退接近丹麦领空的外国飞机的任务。”

据丹麦国防部消息，目前已按计划向丹麦交付了17架战斗机，其中包括6架来自德克萨斯州沃斯堡生产线的F-35，用于替换卢克空军基地的教练机。虽然洛克希德·马丁公司去年已恢复交付TR-3配置的F-35，但这些新战机目前仍仅限于执行训练任务。

丹麦共订购了27架F-35战机，计划在未来几年内逐步取代F-16的所有任务。丹麦政府表示，剩余的战机将以TR-3配置交付，交付时间预计在2027年之前。

洛克希德·马丁公司针对 F-35 战斗机的 TR-3 升级计划原定于 2023 年夏季推出，其中包括改进的座舱显示器和更强大的机载计算能力，并有望成为进一步升级（称为 Block 4）的基础，该升级将增加武器和电子战能力。

国防部在6月份表示，F-35的情况预计不会影响向乌克兰捐赠F-16战斗机。

鲁迪·鲁伊滕贝格是《防务新闻》的欧洲记者。他的职业生涯始于彭博新闻社，拥有报道科技、大宗商品市场和政治方面的经验。