FORT SMITH -- Ebbing Air National Guard Base welcomed a new country to its facility Tuesday morning as it expands its F-35 training site.
Various civilian and military officials gathered on the cold, windy air strip to watch as the new F-35 Lighting II from the Finnish air force arrived.
The fighter will be the first of eight planes from Finland arriving at the facility, joining the pilots and eight planes from Poland that arrived in December. An estimated 20 Finnish pilots are expected to be trained at the facility, according to Arkansas Air National Guard officials.
Finnish air force Col. Tuukka Elonheimo, the senior national representative for the F-35 in the United States, said Tuesday was a historic day for his country, and he felt both proud and happy to see many people's work come to fruition.
"The delivery of the first F-35 is a concrete milestone for the Finnish Air Force, and it has been a lot of work behind the scenes, years and months waiting for this to happen," Elonheimo said.
Finland has been working with F-18 Hornets for years now, Elonheimo said, adding it was time to step up to another level with the new, state-of-the-art F-35 bringing capabilities the...
Source: https://www.nwaonline.com/news/2026/jan/21/first-finnish-f-35-lighting-ii-arrives-in-fort/
- Log in to post comments
Link