The Royal Norwegian Air Force has concluded a deployment of F-35A fifth generation fighter aircraft as part of an integrated air and missile defence mission under NATO’s Allied Air Command. The deployment was initiated in August in response to rising tensions with Russia, amid ongoing Western participation in the Russian-Ukrainian War. The fighters were deployed to Rzeszow Airport, which is just over 70 kilometres from Poland’s border with Ukraine, with the Norwegian Defence Ministry reporting that the fighters’ presence “supports the protection of Polish airspace and a key logistical hub for aid to Ukraine.” Norway and the Netherlands conducted operations with the F-35 jointly, with Dutch pilots flying Norwegian fighters and vice versa while in Poland. The two countries’ squadrons also integrated their maintenance. Both countries were partners in the F-35 program, and transitioned to the aircraft in parallel from fleets of F-16s procured in the 1980s.
The Norwegian military presence in Poland, has included NASAMS air defence systems, two separate F-35 deployments, and the construction of a training base in Legio. The F-35s were intended provide continuous readiness against the potential entry of Russian aircraft into NATO territory, as risks have remained of Russian-Ukrainian hostilities overspilling into Polish territory. Ukrainian missiles, and drones alleged to be of Russian origin, have entered Polish airspace multiple times in the past. In early September a Royal Netherlands Air Force F-35A provided support to Polish F-16C/D fighters in their efforts to shoot down drones that violated Poland’s airspace, with the unmanned aircraft alleged by Western sources to have been launchd by Russia. It remains uncertain whether the F-35 was involved in shooting down the aircraft, or whether it may have used its superior sensors and data sharing capabilities to support combat operations by Polish F-16s.
The F-35 can serve as a force multiplier for Polish Air Force F-16s, with its AN/APG-81 active electronically scanned array radar not only being much larger, but also being far more advanced than the older aircraft’s obsolete mechanically scanned array radars. The Polish Air Force is expected to significantly bolster its own air defence capabilities by modernising its F-16s to the F-16V standard, and by procuring its own F-35s. The F-35’s unique sensors have made it highly prized in Eastern Europe, with the U.S. Air Force having deployed the aircraft in the to collect valuable electronic intelligence on Russian air defences in the Ukrainian theatre. This has led to what analysts have termed ‘duels in the electromagnetic spectrum’ between the fighters and Russian ground-based assets such as S-300 systems. It remains highly possible that Norwegian F-35s may have been involved in similar engagements due to the close proximity of their operations to Russian forces.