Finland's Newest F-35 Failed to Reach Its Base on Time
A Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II fighter jet. Source: iStock.com/Andy_Oxley
Finland’s experience operating the F-35—one of the world’s most advanced yet problematic aircraft, dubbed “Combat Penguins” by critics—got off to an unfortunate start on Friday. One of the jets being ferried from the US to Finland failed to take off due to an avionics issue, missing its scheduled arrival at the Rovaniemi airbase.
This incident—routine for this particular aircraft type—adds to a long list of mishaps involving the first mass-produced fifth-generation fighter, a record that includes more than a dozen major crashes and pilot fatalities, alongside the software and fleet-readiness problems that have dogged the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II program throughout its life.
BACKGROUND
The average Finn, poised to celebrate the country’s entry into the exclusive club of F-35 operators, was undoubtedly shocked and filled with foreboding about the aircraft’s future. The jets’ reputation had already been tarnished by rumors that the manufacturer could remotely disable them.
Acquiring the F-35 to replace the reliable and technically sophisticated F-18s (7 two-seaters and 57 single-seaters), which had served the Finnish Air Force since November 7, 1995, cost Finnish taxpayers roughly three times as much as the F-18s did.
The 64 F-18s cost Finnish taxpayers 3.16 billion euros. The same number of F-35s is being bought inside a 10-billion-euro program envelope, with the aircraft package alone worth some 8.4 billion—making it the most expensive arms procurement in Finland’s history since 1917.
The question of whether these problematic F-35s—which are subject to significant operational restrictions regarding weather, speed, and altitude—are three times more effective than the reliable F-18 “airborne soldiers” is rhetorical. The answer is no.
One Jet Short in the Azores
One of the F-35 fighter jets en route to Finland on Friday remained in the Azores due to a technical fault, Yle reports.
According to the report, the aircraft’s fault-monitoring system indicated a potential issue during startup. Aki Puustinen, Chief of Staff of the Air Force, told Yle in an interview that the problem was a minor avionics fault—an issue with the aircraft’s electronic systems. A spare part is being shipped to the Azores.
“Attempts were made to diagnose the fault, but when it became clear that resolving it would delay the departure of the entire ferry flight group, the decision was made to shut down the engine and wait until the fault could be properly investigated and repaired,” Puustinen told Yle.
Three fighter jets had departed from the Lockheed Martin factory for Finland earlier this week. Only two of them arrived at the Lapland Air Command.
The absence of one jet raised questions. The Defense Command’s communications unit did not comment on the matter to Ilta-Sanomat on Friday.
Two aircraft entered Finnish airspace at 17:21 on Friday. They landed in Rovaniemi at 17:45. The specific aircraft that arrived are JF-510 and JF-512; the one left behind is JF-511.
The fighter jets departed from Fort Worth, Texas, on September 15 and made a stopover at Lajes Air Base in the Azores, Portugal.
A joint Finnish-Belgian group of six F-35 aircraft flew from the United States to the Azores earlier in the week. While three fighter jets were originally scheduled to arrive in Finland, two F-35 aircraft ultimately landed in Rovaniemi.
Initial information on Friday indicated that the ferry flight group could not delay its departure for the sake of Finland’s third aircraft. In addition to five F-35s, the group included KC-135 aerial refueling tankers.
Puustinen notes that it would not be practical to ferry the aircraft to Finland separately, as the transatlantic flight requires aerial refueling support. The jet will therefore be flown to Finland with the next batch of planes.
In peacetime, he adds, the threshold for aborting a mission is low, as there is no desire to take unnecessary risks.
Source:
- Ilta-Sanomat (in Finnish)
- Yle (in Finnish)
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