OSLO, Norway—As Norway readies to welcome its first F-35s in country in just nine short months, top defense officials here worry Lockheed Martin won’t be ready to support the new fleet.
The nation plans to begin operating the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) almost as soon as it arrives on Norwegian soil in November, according to air force officials. But while Lockheed has proved it can successfully deliver aircraft from the production line, the company has yet to show it will have a reliable system in place to support the aircraft on “day two,” says Maj. Gen. Morten Klever, Norway’s program director for F-35.
Norway has identified a number of “risk areas,” and is currently working with the F-35 Joint Program Office (JPO), Lockheed and engine maker Pratt & Whitney to mitigate those risks, Klever says.
“They will start training for initial operating capability immediately and everything needs to be in place for them to do that,” Klever says. “Is the industry ready to support and sustain the aircraft in Norway? There is a risk right now.”
Lockheed and the partners are setting up roughly 30 F-35 bases internationally between now and 2020, a massive undertaking, Klever says. In particular, Klever is concerned about Lockheed’s ability on day two to provide the necessary spare parts, equipment and support, while at the same time navigating the specific laws and regulations of Norway and eight other partner countries.
“I think Lockheed Martin really needs to step up the work on sustainment,” Klever says. “After all, the partners are expecting a seamless global sustainment solution.”
Chief of the Royal Norwegian Air Force Brig. Gen. Tonje Skinnarland echoes Klever’s concerns, adding that she is keeping a close eye on some “critical deviations” that have emerged recently.
“We are on a very tight plan, a very tight schedule, and everything is linked together,” Skinnarland says. “If we drift off the plan for any reason it will affect our ability to be operational along the path we have.”
Lockheed pushed back on these concerns, pointing to the arrival of the first F-35s in country for the Israeli air force in December 2016 as proof the company will be ready to support Norway’s F-35s. Working with Lockheed, Israel successfully launched a two-ship flight just 16 hr. after the aircraft touched down, company spokesman Mike Rein says.
“In the six weeks since the arrival, the IAF has met or exceeded all of their flying objectives and the aircraft and system remain in a ready state,” Rein says. “We are confident that it will be a similar case when Norway’s F-35s arrive in country for the first time.”
Italy’s F-35s, which arrived at Amendola air base in December, also are flying sorties according to plan with Lockheed’s support, Rein adds. The company expects similar successes at U.S. Naval Air Station Lemoore once F-35C operations begin there.
Meanwhile, the men and women on the ground at Ørland Main Air Station are doing their part to stand up the first Norwegian F-35 squadron. But the transition from F-16 to F-35 is just one piece of a sweeping modernization effort across Norway’s armed forces. As it introduces new equipment like F-35, Boeing’s P-8 maritime patrol aircraft (MPA), and new search-and-rescue (SAR) helicopters, Norway is re-structuring bases across the country to streamline operations in a tight fiscal environment. The government is consolidating the air force organization, recently shuttering the air wing at Bodo that was home to two F-16 squadrons, one of which has now been deactivated in anticipation of the F-35. At the same time, Norway also will close Andoya, currently the main maritime patrol base, once the legacy P-3 MPA fleet is retired.
Ørland will become the nation’s main combat airbase, eventually home to two F-35 squadrons—the historic 332 and 331 squadrons, which flew Spitfires in World War II—advanced air and base defense forces, and an upgraded SAR helicopter detachment. It must also be able to accommodate deployments of allied aircraft, in particular the NATO Airborne Warning and Control System. The new P-8s will be based at Evenes air base north of the Arctic Circle, along with forward-deployed F-35s, to hunt for Russian submarines.
“We need to be more lean and more effective, and use our finances in a better way, but we also have to change our perception to network centric warfare,” says Col. Aage Lyder Longva, commander of the 132 Air Wing.
The Norwegian Defense Estate Agency (NDEA) began building the support infrastructure for F-35 at Ørland in May 2015, with the goal of getting the basic equipment in place for operations by the time the first aircraft arrive. The outer shell of the new F-35 facility is already complete; now, Longva is waiting on Lockheed to install the eight simulators and necessary equipment for the Autonomic Logistics and Information System, the maintenance backbone of the new fleet.
To protect the new F-35s from prying eyes, base personnel are building a dirt wall around the outer perimeter, says Olaf Dobloug, chief of combat aircraft base construction with the NDEA. They also are updating and extending the runway by 300 meters, and adding new navigational and lighting systems.  
Altogether, Norway has estimated readying both Ørland and Evenes to accommodate new aircraft across the force—including infrastructure modernization and building new facilities—will cost 10 billion kroner, or about $1.3 billion, Longva says. Just over half of that will go exclusively toward supporting the F-35, he notes.
While much of the upgrade is focused on what happens inside base walls, Longva and Olaf also must keep in mind the surrounding area. A significant portion of the funds will go to noise abatement, partially due to stricter environmental regulations recently established by the Norwegian government and local authorities. By law the NDEA must offer to buy the private houses in the “red zone,” where noise from the existing F-16s and future F-35s will be the worst. If the residents choose to stay, the NDEA must install insulation into residents’ walls to protect against the noise.
Norway, Lockheed and the F-35 Joint Program Office clearly have a long way to go to prepare for the arrival of the JSF. But the new aircraft is not just a replacement for the legacy F-16 that Norway currently relies on to be its eyes and ears in the North Atlantic, Skinnarland says. The air force must fundamentally change its thinking to take full advantage of the new, fifth-generation capability.
“We have to be able to utilize the airframe in new ways, not continue in the same ways we have used the F-16,” Skinnarland says. “We have to develop concepts on how to operate, what’s the capabilities and possibilities of the new aircraft.”

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January 20, 2017
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New Pressure on Lockheed Martin To Reduce F-35 Unit Cost
The nature and extent of future F-35 fighter procurement is one of the many future policy unknowns in the U.S., as the new administration takes over today. Two of incoming President Trump’s many tweets have criticized the program on cost grounds, evoking a pained response from manufacturer Lockheed Martin (LM). Trump has also suggested that the U.S. Navy should buy more F/A-18 Super Hornets from Boeing instead. But that is already happening, thanks to continuing Congressional plus-up additions to the U.S. defense procurement budget.
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