The F-35 Lightning II Fighter, In Europe, Wins Fans While Watching Russia

In the battle to save Ukraine, the F-35 Lightning II is emerging as a winner. Operating far from the front, patrolling NATO’s electromagnetic spectrum, the Fifth Generation F-35 fighter is living up to the hype—even while working through tough operational and supply-chain challenges.

The F-35’s value proposition is still largely obscured by secrecy. But, since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, F-35 stakeholders have been a bit more open about the aircraft. Several European countries have gotten a real-time look at the platform’s more classified “takes” and liked what they’ve seen of the F-35 so far.

Sales have been brisk. Following F-35 commitments by Switzerland and Finland, Germany signed on for 35 F-35As, the Czech Republic has gone in for 24, Greece wants 20, and, after seeing U.S. F-35s operate over Eastern Europe, Romania is now advancing plans to acquire the aircraft as well. Over 550 F-35s are set to operate in NATO countries by 2030, and Lockheed Martin
LMT
is planning to finish the 1000^th F-35 by the end of the year.

Surprises are everywhere. Despite a reputation as a pricey aircraft, the F-35 is beating rival offerings on cost. According to the Swiss, the F-35 solution was 2.24 billion less than competitors, with a “contractually fixed price, even in the face of inflation.”

Europe’s new-found emphasis wide-ranging interoperability is clinching sales, too. Rather than align with neighboring Sweden, Finland looked to NATO and chose the more widely adopted F-35, putting a higher value on easy integration with a growing list of European-based F-35 operators.

For NATO, the surveillance-focused nature of Europe’s response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has showcased the F-35’s advanced sensors and sensor fusion capabilities—a secretive process of collecting massive amounts of information and then securely disseminating it across NATO’s multinational electronic battlespace.

The F-35’s performance around the European battlefield speaks for itself, but fast-moving consumer technologies have helped prospective users make a better case for the aircraft. With consumer AI exploding into public view, offering the public an array of decision-aids, content support, and other assistance, the idea that a computer could help a pilot better understand a complex battlefield is no longer a revolutionary thing. Stakeholders may dress it up as “Cognitive Electronic Warfare”, but general policymakers are now primed to understand that these capabilities are just a fact of life for modern militaries.

For NATO, where, right now, actionable intelligence is the coin of the realm, the F-35’s ability to hoover up vast amounts of information has done nothing but build NATO’s appetite for the aircraft. With more and more countries flocking to the platform, the F-35, for all of its pesky supply chain challenges, is performing exceptionally well.

F-35s Are Getting More Visible, All The Time

As F-35’s finally get high-profile, real-world operational experience, snap-deploying and working from more austere forward bases, they are meeting the challenge. A year ago, when Russia embarked upon the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, U.S. F-35s surged forward, operating out of Estonia, Lithuania, and Romania. The Royal Netherlands Air Force moved F-35s into Bulgaria.

The results of these forward deployments are coming in, and the verdict is positive. Air Force Times quoted the 388^th Fighter Wing Commander, Col. Craig Andrle, saying that “the jet is always sensing, gathering information. And it was doing that very, very well.”

The jets “were able to locate and identify surface-to-air missile sites and pass that information” on to NATO teammates, obtaining operationally relevant electromagnetic data for the modern battlefield. And right now, even more advanced capabilities and advanced weapons are being developed for F-35 to ensure it continues to stay ahead of the threat for decades to come.

In short, the F-35 is finally getting some real-world experience, stepping away from dubious training scenarios and inadequate and sterile testing ranges where aircraft operations are constrained, and the results are always open to question. And while the F-35 is not directly participating in Ukraine, it is operating in the background, on the fringes, quietly hammering out the foundational data collection and data handling techniques it needs to demonstrate future battlefield relevance.

This sort of real-world operational experience is exactly what the F-35 needed, particularly as the aircraft continues to work through reliability and operational challenges, fine-tuning the aircraft’s supply chain to support a more mature and growing fleet of multinational operators.