Lockheed Martin begins production of F-35 for Royal Danish Air Force

Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II (Photo Courtesy Lockheed Martin)

Lockheed Martin announced on 27 January that it has begun building the first F-35A Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) for Denmark at its Fort Worth production facility in Texas.

According to the US state department website, Denmark has ordered 27 fifth-generation F-35 fighter aircraft as part of foreign military sales. The completion of 27 aircraft is scheduled for late 2020.

Having selected the F-35A to replace its Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcons in 2016, Denmark decided in 2018 to hedge payments of USD3.7 billion so that the country’s department of defence could acquire the aircraft at a fixed price in its local currency, the Krone.

For Denmark, this means in large part the defense of Greenland. The Kingdom is an Arctic power because of their role in Greenland.  And the Danish defense modernization strategy is built around acquiring the F-35 and shaping a fifth generation enabled force able to integrate at the speed of light with those in the defense of the Northern flank.

And in a recent interview, the Danish Defence Minister highlighted that this require the acquisition of additional F-35s for the Danish Air Force.

The Danish Air Force will gradually transition from its F-16 to F-35 said the Chief of Staff of the Royal Danish Air Force, Major General Anders Rex.

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