LUKE AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz., Dec. 17 (UPI) — A Lockheed Martin-built F-35 Lightning II fighter took flight under the command of a Norwegian pilot for the first time at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona.
The jet was flown by Royal Norwegian Air Force student pilot Maj. Morten Hanche, who has been training at the Luke Air Force Base under the guide of American pilots for several months prior to his flight on Tuesday. Through his training with the U.S. Air Force, Hanche aims to become Norway’s first F-35 instructor as part of a larger effort to boost international involvement in the program.
“The flight was smooth and it was a good sortie,” Hanche said in a statement. “We worked a close air support scenario with ground controllers and practiced integration with ground forces. The aircraft was very well-behaved.”
The F-35 flown was produced at Lockheed Martin’s facility in Texas, and is one of the first two Norwegian planes made. Both aircraft are stationed at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona for development and training.
Norway has been part of the international F-35 program since 2008, when the country’s government selected the developing aircraft as a replacement for its aging fleet of F-16s. Lockheed Martin unveiled the first F-35A at a ceremony where both Norwegian and U.S. government and miltary officials were in attendance.
Norway has funded the procurement of 22 of 52 planned F-35 aircraft. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in 2017.
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