Finland Welcomes First F-35A Fighters in Rovaniemi Ceremony
Finland formally received its first two F-35A Lightning II fighters at an arrival ceremony in Rovaniemi on October 1, 2026.
Finland officially welcomed its first two F-35A Lightning II fighters at a ceremony in Rovaniemi attended by senior officials and international guests. The two aircraft, serials JF-510 and JF-512, had landed in Finland on September 18, 2026, after a transatlantic ferry flight conducted by U.S. Air Force pilots. About 400 invited guests and media representatives attended the October 1 event at the Lapland Air Wing.
Lieutenant Colonel Jaakko Sointu flew the Finnish Air Force's first domestic F-35 flight as part of the ceremony. Major General Timo Herranen, Commander of the Finnish Air Force, addressed the gathering. "We will not confuse arrival with readiness," he stated. "Arrival is just the beginning of the work." Attendees included President Alexander Stubb, Defence Minister Antti Häkkänen, U.S. Ambassador Howard W. Brodie, Lieutenant General Gregory Masiello from the F-35 Joint Program Office, and Orlando Sanchez Jr, president of Lockheed Martin Aeronautics.
Programme progress and training
Finland has now received ten of the 64 F-35As it ordered. Eight of these jets, serials JF-501 through JF-508, remain temporarily stationed at Ebbing Air National Guard Base in Arkansas for training. The first of these, JF-501, arrived at Ebbing in January 2026, one month after its rollout in Fort Worth, Texas. Training for Finnish pilots and maintainers has been ongoing there since.
Initial training in the United States will continue until early 2028. Back in Finland, maintenance training in Rovaniemi is due to begin before the end of 2026. Pilot training at the same location is scheduled to start in January 2027. Finnish instructors trained in the U.S. will work alongside personnel from the United States, Norway, and Denmark during this transition period.
Future fleet integration
The Lapland Air Wing is scheduled to reach initial operational capability in early 2028. At that point, it will operate only the F-35A. The Karelia Air Wing is due to receive its first F-35s during 2028. Full operational capability across the entire Finnish Air Force is planned by the end of 2030. Until that milestone is reached, Finland’s current F/A-18 Hornet and the new F-35A fleets will operate in parallel.
Industrial involvement and upgrades
Finnish industry is playing a key role in the global F-35 programme. Patria, a domestic defense manufacturer, has become the first company other than Lockheed Martin to produce the F-35 forward fuselage. Assembly began at Patria’s Halli facility in Jämsä in early March 2026. The industrial framework covers the production of 400 forward fuselage and landing gear door sets through 2042.
On the upgrade path, Finland will independently fund the integration of the delayed Block 4 modernization package. Henrik Elo, director of Finland’s F-35 program, confirmed this in April 2026. Finland would fund Block 4 retrofits at its own expense as the delayed modernization package becomes available, he said. Pilot training in Rovaniemi is scheduled to begin in January 2027, with initial operational capability at the Lapland Air Wing expected in early 2028.
