Norway has achieved a significant milestone this month by becoming the first F-35 partner nation to complete its scheduled delivery of the final two F-35A fighter jets. Manufacturer Lockheed Martin announced that the Scandinavian country has successfully completed an order for a total of 52 aircraft.
This announcement comes on the heels of the opening of a new F-35 maintenance center in Rygge, Norway, last month. Sustainment work and future upgrades will take place at the state-of-the-art 5.000-square-meter facility, which will be operated by Kongsberg Aviation Maintenance Services and the Norwegian Defence Materiel Agency.
Norway’s F-35 fighter jets were previously operated at the F-35 maintenance center in Cameri, Italy. The establishment of a national maintenance facility would give Norway the capacity to independently carry out these operations locally, strengthen supply chains and increase operational availability, Kongsberg said in a statement.
Concerns Over US Control in Europe and “Kill-Switch” Claims
Since US President Donald Trump took office in January, there have been concerns in Europe about the extent to which Washington could exert global control over F-35 fleets, a new degree of predictability from an ally that has long been a cornerstone of the West’s deterrence architecture.
But Lockheed Martin executives have strongly rejected suggestions by some leaders in Europe that Washington could disable the aircraft via a remote-controlled F-35 “kill switch,” while also emphasizing that the inner workings of the sprawling ecosystem for operating and maintaining the fighter jet are, by design, a U.S. system structured to provide reassurance to customer nations with Washington’s support.
Spare Parts Supply and National Stock Security
Now, attention has turned to the distribution of spare parts, a potential bottleneck that F-35 countries are trying to avoid. Endre Lunde, a special adviser to the Norwegian Defense Materiel Agency, explained that it is rare for spare parts to be transferred from one F-35 country to another, and that the parts remain American until they are installed in a country’s jets.
At this point, the parts are delivered to the user country for budget, accounting and customs purposes, and this is also true for all parts Norwegian industry produces for the F-35, Lunde said. The Norwegian Air Force regularly trains for situations where it does not have access to central maintenance servers and must fly the aircraft unassisted for a certain period of time, Lunde said.
In general, each F-35 country also maintains a national stock of spare parts for its aircraft, known as “security of supply.” For Norway, this means investing in individual spare parts packages for the country’s readiness needs in order to be able to operate the aircraft independently for a certain period of time during crises.
Mediterranean Care Center and European Cooperation
On March 24, a U.S. F-35 stationed in the United Kingdom became the first American jet to check in for maintenance at the Maintenance, Repair, Overhaul and Upgrade (MRO&U) center in Cameri, Italy. The center, funded by Italy and run by local firm Leonardo, is managed in conjunction with Lockheed Martin and the F-35 Joint Program Office and has previously serviced Italian, Norwegian and Dutch F-35s.
The center, called the F-35 Euro-Mediterranean Airframe Depot, is located next to the jet’s final assembly line, where Italian and Dutch-made F-35s are built, and where Lockheed Martin personnel handle the delicate aspects of assembly, such as radar-detecting coatings. Cameri is the only facility in Europe that provides heavy maintenance, and it is expanding its operations as European fleets grow. Closer collaboration on F-35 logistics would place greater responsibility on Europe and create greater interdependence with the United States.
Similar Security Measures from Finland
Finland, which has ordered 64 F-35s, has a similar security clause. According to a representative of the Finnish Air Force Command, national production capabilities are reinforced by a reserve of spare parts under national control, which guarantees “continuity of operations in all situations.”
Norway’s completion of the F-35 program and maintenance partnerships across Europe demonstrate that the F-35 ecosystem is maturing and partner nations are taking steps to increase operational independence. Sensitivity to spare parts supply and national stock security measures are critical to the long-term sustainability of this advanced fighter fleet.
