Denmark’s first four Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II aircraft have arrived home at Fighter Wing Skrydstrup in southern Jutland.
The stealth craft came from the Azores, where they stopped over shortly after crossing the Atlantic from their base in the United States.
This comes after the nation announced the allocation of 143 billion Danish kroner ($20.5 billion) over the next decade to strengthen its defense and security.
Transformation Through Ties
Defense Industrial Attaché Brigadier General Prince Joachim of Denmark led the landing ceremony, emphasizing the importance of the Royal Danish Air Force (RDAF)’s newest aircraft program.
“The arrival of the F-35 provides Denmark and the Danish Armed Forces a beacon to transform the armed forces to 5th Generation,” he said.
Joachim also expressed that the upgrade was made possible by Denmark’s close ties with the United States.
More to Come
The RDAF is slated to have 27 F-35 aircraft, with six more currently at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona to support international cooperative F-35 training operations.
Denmark is keeping the aircraft in the US for training and maintenance as it prepares to receive them at a later date.
Skrydstrup Air Base is the 31st base worldwide to operate the F-35.
Det var en glad forsvarsminister, @troelslundp, der tog imod de fire første F-35 fly i Skrydstrup og fik mulighed for at hilse på en af de dygtige piloter. Flyene er en stor styrkelse af @Forsvaretdk og Flyvevåbnet 🫡✈️ #dkforsvar #F35 pic.twitter.com/QmEFMx9ahp
— Forsvarsministeriet/Danish MoD (@Forsvarsmin) September 16, 2023
