@Kmarion: Norway have air operations in Afghanistan amongst other joint air operations with the US.
Yes we have been ghost fighting the Russians in the northern parts of the Atlantic for decades, and we have done it well, Norway is responsible for air coverage over Iceland after the US withdrawal, we have very capable pilots and to my knowledge they all have training from the US. The F35 is today an equally great fighter as the F16 was in it's days when that was first purchased, many Norwegian companies already deliver parts and ammunition to US defence contractors so this choice was clearly beneficial for both parties.
We have been the first front for NATO against Russia since the start of the cold war and you wouldn't believe the number of incidents that took place both in the air and on the ground over a time-span of 40+ years.
The purpose of the Norwegian military is first and foremost to hold of the enemy until other NATO forces arrives so we actually need a bigger military pr capita than what's normal for most other NATO countries, and that's why we need new and better planes.
The OP might just have been a tad to early, the official decission isn't supposed to happen until 19th of December ...
... and the F16 is getting more and more exspensive to maintain for each year ...
Yes we have been ghost fighting the Russians in the northern parts of the Atlantic for decades, and we have done it well, Norway is responsible for air coverage over Iceland after the US withdrawal, we have very capable pilots and to my knowledge they all have training from the US. The F35 is today an equally great fighter as the F16 was in it's days when that was first purchased, many Norwegian companies already deliver parts and ammunition to US defence contractors so this choice was clearly beneficial for both parties.
We have been the first front for NATO against Russia since the start of the cold war and you wouldn't believe the number of incidents that took place both in the air and on the ground over a time-span of 40+ years.
The purpose of the Norwegian military is first and foremost to hold of the enemy until other NATO forces arrives so we actually need a bigger military pr capita than what's normal for most other NATO countries, and that's why we need new and better planes.
The OP might just have been a tad to early, the official decission isn't supposed to happen until 19th of December ...
... and the F16 is getting more and more exspensive to maintain for each year ...
Wait behind the line ..............................................................