British and Norwegian F-35 fighters escorted a US Air Force B-52 Stratofortress over the High North during Exercise Global Thunder 27 on October 24.
F-35 Lightning II
The Pentagon and Lockheed Martin have announced a 10-year framework targeting 1,560 F-35 fighters at a production rate of 156 aircraft annually.
Switzerland has accepted major reforms to its defence procurement process after a parliamentary review questioned the handling of its F-35A fighter purchase.
An unnamed foreign government is funding $18.79 million in development and integration work on a tailored F-35 variant, with the effort continuing through December 2030.
The US Marine Corps has demonstrated an eight-weapon StormBreaker ripple release from an F-35B, advancing efforts to engage multiple targets in a single pass. The test highlights the weapon’s precision-guidance capabilities and potential to reduce pilot workload, while software integration and additional testing remain critical to full operational fielding.
The U.S. Navy’s F-35C Lightning II completed its first arrested landing aboard the future USS John F. Kennedy (CVN 79) on October 13, 2026, marking a major milestone in integrating the fifth-generation stealth fighter with the Ford-class aircraft carrier ahead of its planned delivery in spring 2027.
Kingsley Field Air National Guard Base is located at Crater Lake-Klamath Regional Airport in Klamath Falls, Oregon (LMT).
Finland has begun a new chapter in military aviation with the arrival of its first permanently based F-35A fighters in Rovaniemi, strengthening national defense, NATO interoperability and the country’s transition to fifth-generation airpower.
The Royal Canadian Air Force’s (RCAF) first F-35A Lightning II has completed its maiden flight at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth (FWH), Fort Worth, Texas.
Honeywell Aerospace has introduced a new P40 upgrade for the F-35 Lightning II’s Power and Thermal Management System (PTMS), increasing cooling capacity from about 32 kilowatts to 40 kilowatts.