Finnish Air Force F-35A Delivered

The Finnish Air Force's first two F-35A Lightning IIs, tail numbers JF-510 and JF-512, landed at the Lapland Air Wing at Rovaniemi on 18 September 2026 and will join 11 Squadron. The Aviationist reported that the pair left Lockheed Martin's Fort Worth plant on 15 September and crossed the Atlantic with a stop at Lajes in the Azores, escorted into Finnish airspace by Finnish F/A-18 Hornets; a third Finnish aircraft, JF-511, stayed at Lajes with a technical problem. Finland has ordered 64 F-35As to replace its Hornet fleet and expects initial operational capability in early 2028.