Unable to wait for the most advanced F-35, Denmark uses "interim solution"

Denmark plans to bring home six F-35 Lightning II stealth fighters currently used to train pilots in the US amid continued delays in the delivery schedule for the upgraded version of the “Lightning”.

Typically, new F-35 customers keep their first batch of jets at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona, where pilots and maintainers receive initial training so they can operate the fighters when the real thing arrives.

In an announcement on June 26, the Danish Ministry of Defense said that the country's six TR-2 configuration F-35 jets stationed at Luke Air Force Base will be "repatriated" to the Royal Danish Air Force's Skrydstrup Air Base.

With this move, the Nordic country's active F-35 fleet will be increased from four to 10 aircraft, as Denmark prepares to phase out its aging fleet of F-16 Fighting Falcons.

"Situational solution"

US defense giant Lockheed Martin is running out of space to park undelivered fifth-generation jets amid delays in certifying hardware and software related to the Technology Refresh 3, or TR-3, update that has pushed delivery schedules back to 2025, the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) reported in May.

That is disrupting plans to replace fleets in Denmark, Belgium and Norway, which have F-16s that have been in service for more than 40 years.

“The positive thing is that we have now found a solution so that the delay from the manufacturer affects us as little as possible,” Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said in a statement on June 26. “The F-35 is a major investment for Denmark. It will be important for our defense and security for many years to come, and it is important that we closely monitor this process.”

The first four F-35 fighter jets arrived in Denmark in April 2021. Photo: EurAsian Times

The TR-3 software, originally scheduled for summer 2023, continues to be unstable, the GAO said in May. The watchdog said some test pilots had to reboot the entire radar and electronic warfare (EW) systems mid-flight on the F-35 to get them back up and running.

The update includes improved cockpit displays and more onboard computing power, and is said to lay the groundwork for a further upgrade known as Block 4, which adds new weapons and electronic warfare capabilities to the Lightning.

Lockheed Martin will initially deliver F-35 jets with a limited TR-3 version that can only be used for training purposes. Danish jets with the older TR-2 configuration will be repatriated when planes with the TR-3 hardware and software upgrade are delivered to Luke Air Force Base, the Danish Ministry of Defense said.

The arrival of the TR-2 configuration F-35s will allow Denmark to maintain key operational milestones in the process of introducing the fifth-generation fighter and enhance the training of pilots and support personnel at Skrydstrup Air Base in Denmark, while allowing for continued pilot training at Luke Air Base in the United States.

Certain disturbance

Denmark’s move has other European F-35 customers, current and future, concerned that their carefully calibrated aircraft delivery and upgrade schedules could once again be thrown into disarray by the so-called “TR-3 update” issue.

The Netherlands and Norway operate fleets of more than 30 F-35 jets, so they face less of an emergency than Denmark or a country like Belgium, which has yet to receive any F-35s. But less urgent does not mean unaffected.

Norwegian defense officials said they have raised their concerns with the Pentagon’s F-35 Joint Program Office (JPO), which represents the U.S. and international governments involved in the F-35 program. Oslo is particularly concerned that Lockheed Martin is offering a mix of half-baked solutions and different versions in the production process.

“We don't want a temporary configuration,” said an unnamed Norwegian defense official.

An F-16 AM E-005 fighter jet flies over Denmark in October 2020. Denmark is awaiting delivery of more modern F-35 fighter jets to replace its aging F-16s. Photo: EurAsian Times

The Netherlands anticipated delays in the aircraft's development, and in late 2022 ordered delivery of six aircraft in the TR-2 configuration rather than the upgraded version, saying deliveries could continue until March, according to the government's annual progress report released on April 2.

The Dutch are expected to receive their first TR-3-configured F-35s by the end of 2024, and if the software is not available by then, the delay would have a “limited impact” on Amsterdam’s plans to establish a third F-35 squadron by mid-2027, according to the report.

Denmark has already purchased 27 F-35s and the remaining aircraft will be delivered in TR-3 format “by 2027,” the Danish Ministry of Defense said. According to the ministry, the repatriation of the six F-35 TR-2s will help ensure the progress of the F-16 donation to Ukraine as well as Denmark’s obligations to NATO in a crisis situation.

The country will stop training Ukrainian F-16 pilots in Denmark after 2024 when Skrydstrup Air Base fully switches to F-35s, Danish Defense Minister Poulsen said at a press conference with his Norwegian counterpart Bjørn Arild Gram on June 24.

The Danish Defense Ministry did not immediately respond to questions regarding the timeline for repatriating the six aircraft from the US or delivering the remaining 17 F-35s.

Minh Duc (According to Defense News, Flight Global)

Source: https://www.nguoiduatin.vn/khong-cho-duoc-f-35-toi-tan-nhat-dan-mach-xai-giai-phap-tinh-the-a671004.html