Finland's first Lightning II delivered
On 20 January 2026, Finland’s first Lockheed F-35A Lightning II multirole fighter arrived at Ebbing Air National Guard Base (ANGB), adjacent to Fort Smith Regional Airport (AR).
The F-35A, JF-501 (FMS 23-5932), took off from Lockheed Martin's Fort Worth plant (TX) to Ebbing around 10:30 hrs LT. Sporting the Ilmavoimat (Finnish Air Force) badge on the tail, this particular aircraft will be first assigned to the 57th Fighter Squadron, a geographically separated unit from the 33rd Fighter Wing, at Ebbing for initial Finnish pilot and ground crew training.
On 4 July 2024, Scramble Magazine first wrote about the Black Knights reactivated for Lightning II training effort.
During December 2021, the Finnish Government selected the F-35A as the winner of the HX (Fighter) Programme which is destined to replace the F/A-18C/D Hornets currently in use by the Finnish Air Force. Ultimately, the Finnish Air Force will receive 64 F-35A aircraft.
The first eight aircraft will be deployed at Ebbing Air National Guard Base for the initial F-35 training of Finnish personnel. The Finnish Air Force will receive its first F-35A fighters at Rovaniemi, home of the Lapland Air Wing, at the end of 2026.
Credit photos
: Lockheed Martin/Finnish Air Force / credit patch: https://flightlineinsignia.com