Denmark Receives its First Locally Based F-35s 

Denmark’s first four locally based Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters landed on home soil on 14 September 2023 at the Royal Danish Air Force’s Skrydstrup Air Base, signalling the dawn of a new era for the country’s combat air capabilities.

“As newly appointed defense industrial attaché, it is a privilege to oversee the first aircraft ferry of Denmark’s new F-35 Lightning II,” His Royal Highness Brigadier General Prince Joachim of Denmark was quoted as saying in a Lockheed Martin press release. “The F-35 is a huge step forward in technology. The arrival of the F-35 provides Denmark and the Danish armed forces a beacon to transform the armed forces to [the] fifth generation. It is a pleasure to note that this unique piece of military hardware also holds Danish industrial components and is testimony to the close ties between the United States and Denmark.”

Denmark’s programme of record calls for 27 F-35A aircraft. Ten of these have been received to date, with six remaining at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona to support international co-operative F-35 training operations. The F-35s will replace the Royal Danish Air Force’s fleet of 43 Lockheed Martin F-16A/B fighters.

With the addition of Skrydstrup Air Base, F-35s are now operating from 31 bases worldwide. Denmark is the 10th nation to operate the F-35 from its home soil.

Peter Felstead