F-35 Lightning II stealth fighters took over Norway's Rapid Reaction Alert (QRA) service last Thursday (06). The ceremony took place at Evenes Air Base and also marked the retirement of the 57 F-16 fighters of the Royal Norwegian Air Force (RNoAF).
At 11:45 am on the 06th, the F-35As of the RNoAF officially began operating the QRA service. Before, the rapid alert was carried out by the F-16 from the Bodø air base, which was also closed with the departure of the Fighting Falcons.
“The F-35 has already received the baton from the F-16, keeping constant guard. I feel great pride today. The introduction of the new fighter jets was a great success, thanks to our ionate and talented people and partners.” said Major General Rolf Folland, Commander of the Royal Norwegian Air Force.
A Rnoof explains that Norway conducts the QRA mission on behalf of NATO. This means that the Air Force has fighter jets on standby at all times. If unknown aircraft come close to Norwegian – and NATO – airspace the F-35s will ignite and take off in 15 minutes. They then find, observe and document any unknown aircraft approaching Norway and NATO airspace.
Norway was one of the first countries to operate the F-16, receiving its first units in 1980, ordered in 1975. Later the fighters were updated with the MLU (Mid Life Upgrade) program, being redesignated F-16AM and BM. Of the 57 aircraft in the now retired fleet, 12 were sold to the US civil company Draken. The Government of Romania has also revealed that it has interest in acquiring 32 fighter jets.
The Norwegian Government announced in 2008 the choice of the F-35A as a replacement for its F-16s. The country's first aircraft took to the skies for the first time in 2015, the same year that RNoAF pilots began their training at Luke Air Force Base in the US.
A peculiarity of the Norwegian F-35s is that they are the only ones equipped with the drag parachute, the so-called drag chute. The inclusion of the equipment – which can be seen at the rear of the fuselage between the two drifts – was requested due to ice operations on the runway.
In all, 52 fighter jets were acquired, 34 of which have already been delivered: 24 are in the country and another 10 in the United States for training new pilots.
