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 for pilot training in the US as the delivery schedule for the upgraded version of the “Lightning” continues to be delayed.

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

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, which 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 manufacturer’s delay 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 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 on-board computing power, and is said to be the basis 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-35s 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 base in Denmark, while allowing for continued pilot training at Luke base in the US.

Certain disturbances

Denmark’s move has other current and future European F-35 customers 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-35s, 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 doesn’t mean less affected.

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 series 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 fighters to replace its aging F-16s. Photo: EurAsian Times

The Netherlands anticipated delays in the aircraft's development and ordered six aircraft in the TR-2 configuration instead of the upgraded version in late 2022, 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 will 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 Defence 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.

Denmark's Defense Ministry did not immediately respond to questions about 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