On Wednesday, October 29, 2025, the American company Lockheed Martin announced on social media that the first of 64 F-35A Lightning II multirole aircraft in the Block 4 TR3 configuration ordered by Finland has been completed. The start of final assembly was reported on June 26 of this year.
Photo: Lockheed Martin
According to published photographs, the airframe with factory number MF-1 and serial number JF-501 has left the Lockheed Martin Aeronautics FACO (Final Assembly and Check-Out) final assembly plant in Fort Worth, Texas. It will now go to the paint shop, which is also located on the complex grounds.
Its construction began on 28 October 2024 (production of the first components started in the second half of 2023).
The aircraft for Finland are being produced as part of the 17th–22nd production lots in the latest Block 4 configuration with the Technical Refresh 3 (TR3) equipment fit. The first eight of them will go to the Ebbing Air National Guard Base in Fort Smith, Arkansas, for initial training of Finnish personnel on F-35A operations. At the end of 2026 the first aircraft will be relocated to Rovaniemi Air Base in Lapland.
Earlier, in January this year, five U.S. F-35A pilots from Luke Air Force Base in Arizona visited the Finnish base at Pirkkala to share experience – a prelude to joint exercises. This autumn the first Finnish pilots will go to Ebbing.
Finnish F-35As will be armed with already-ordered long-range anti-radiation missiles AGM-88G AARGM-ER (150 units) and cruise missiles AGM-158B-2 JASSM-ER (200 units), and the government in Helsinki has received approvals to acquire up to 500 GBU-53/B SDB II bombs, 190 AIM-9X Block II Sidewinder air-to-air missiles, 148 AGM-154C-1 JSOW-C1 glide bombs, 120 BLU-117 general-purpose bombs, 32 BLU-109 general-purpose bombs, and 150 BLU-111 general-purpose bombs — and more recently 403 of the newest upgraded radar-guided medium-range air-to-air missiles AIM-120D-3 AMRAAM. Integration with the JSM (Joint Strike Missile) is also planned.
The F-35As will replace 60 Boeing F/A-18C/D Hornet aircraft (out of 62 originally; the first was retired on April 26, 2024, and another crashed on May 7 of this year) under the HX program. Finland is also interested in jointly procuring Saab GlobalEye early warning and control aircraft together with Sweden and Denmark, as well as joining the fleet of Airbus A330-200 MRTT (Multi-Role Tanker Transport) multirole transport and tanker aircraft under NATO’s MMF (Multinational Multi Role Tanker Transport Fleet) initiative. In the future, Finland’s Lightnings are expected to form part of a common Nordic air force.
Elements of the Finnish aircraft are being manufactured in several user countries as part of the international F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program, but in the coming years components for subsequent users will also be produced in Finland under the HX program offset agreement:
- 400 forward fuselage sections at Patria’s Halli facility in Jämsä, Central Finland, opened on June 13 of this year – deliveries starting in 2030;
- main and nose landing gear doors, also at Patria Halli, under a contract signed on March 27, 2024;
- components for Pratt & Whitney F135 turbofan engines in Linnavuori, produced by Nokia’s subsidiary, which will later also handle maintenance support under a contract signed on March 17, 2025.
See also:
- Additional 16 F-35A Lightning II Jets for Denmark
- First F-35B Lightning II for Singapore Now Under Construction
- The U.S. Air Force has already received 500 F-35A Lightning II aircraft
.@FinnishAirForce's first F-35 has moved out of final assembly! 🇫🇮✈️ Here’s a behind-the-scenes glimpse at this important milestone. pic.twitter.com/CBvuev6D7K
— Lockheed Martin Europe (@LMEuropeNews) October 29, 2025
Suomen ensimmäinen F-35A-monitoimihävittäjä, #JF501, on valmistunut loppukokoonpanosta @LockheedMartin’in tehtaalla ja etenee seuraavaksi maalaamoon. Myös 7:n muun 🇫🇮 ensimmäisen JF:n loppukokoonpano on valmis, ja edessä on lopputestauksia ja pinnoittamista. #ilmavoimat #F35hanke pic.twitter.com/G6CESOki7h
— Ilmavoimat (@FinnishAirForce) October 30, 2025
