On January 12, the Royal Danish Air Force celebrated the arrival of three new F-35A stealth fighters from the US, which were made available to Danish pilots at Flyvestation Skrydstrup located in the Vojens region. . As happened with the four examples that arrived last December, the fifth generation aircraft departed from Luke Air Base in Arizona, stopping at the Azores Islands prior to their arrival in Danish territory.
Going into details, the arrival of these new aircraft brings Denmark to have a total of 17 F-35 fighters, with 11 of them currently stationed at its own bases. For their part, the remaining half dozen remain deployed at the aforementioned Luke Air Base in order to carry out the training of future pilots and engineers in charge of providing them with maintenance.
Thus, the Royal Danish Air Force plans that during 2025 the aircraft in question will be able to fly on various missions, gradually replacing the work of its current F-16s, establishing as an operational requirement to have a minimum of two fighters permanently available for deployments. rapid. In this sense, discussions regarding future Danish defense budgets include investments in its air bases to increase the availability of points capable of operating with the F-35, highlighting the current situation the intentions to renovate the Kangerlussuaq airport in Greenland .
For now, it is worth remembering that the Nordic country has so far ordered some 27 units of the advanced American fighter, a fleet that according to the plans of its Air Force should be complete by 2027; The first 4 aircraft being delivered during 2023. Once this happens, Copenhagen’s intention is to retire its F-16 fleet, allocating it to the Air Forces of Argentina and Ukraine.
*Cover image: Danish Ministry of Defense
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