Norwegian Minister of Defence Anne-Grete Strøm-Erichsen announced the Government's decision to procure 6 F-35As in 2017. On Apr 26, ...
On Apr 26, Norwegian government submitted a formal request to the Norwegian parliament for authorization to procure six F-35 Lightning II aircraft for delivery in 2017.
The Norway also announced its revised procurement plan for the F-35, which will see Norway receiving six aircraft annually from 2017 until 2024. This comes in addition to the four aircraft for training purposes that will be delivered in 2015 and 2016, for a total of 52 aircraft.
The move will increase the total cost but reduce the annual burden on the defence budget as Norway will get six planes each year for eight years, instead of 12 planes each year for four years.
The plan accelerates the initial intended purchase date by one year but stretches the total delivery schedule out to 2024.
They are to be followed by up to 48 additional aircraft from 2017 that are to be based at Ørland Main Air Station in central Norway. A small forward operating base will also be based at Evenes in northern Norway to provide quick reaction alert (QRA) services in the high north. An estimated 10% of the overall force generation will also be carried out from the Evenes FOB.
The overall cost of the procurement phase of the project is estimated at USD 10.68 billion (2013 value) in real terms.
The requests sent to parliament have a total value of USD 2.18 billion. This includes both aircraft procurement as well as related investments such as integration work, training and simulators.
Strøm-Erichsen says Norway has also received a assurance for integrating Kongsberg's Joint Strike Missile (JSM) to its aircraft as part of a Block 4 software programme.
JSM is the only long-range anti-surface missile that is specifically designed to fit within the internal weapons bay of the F-35, and is being developed by the Norwegian company Kongsberg in partnership with the Norwegian Ministry of Defence.
stimate.U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Christopher Bogdan, the head of the F-35 joint program office, revealed during testimony in front of the Royal Dutch Parliament defense sub committee on April 18 that the F-35A's flying cost per hour would be 10% highter than F-16 fighter.
Norway participates in the F-35 program as a Level 3 partner in the System Development and Demonstration (SDD) phase.
In November 2008, the Norwegian government chose the F-35 as the replacement aircraft for its F-16 fleet which would be retired by 2020.
First delivered in 1979, Norway has received 74 of the fighter aircrafts.
