Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF)

[zebra159357]

What other rounds of approval do they need?

Just the congress..

 

[JS23]

https://defence-blog.com/finlands-first-f-35-jets-have-arrived-in-the-country/

Finland’s first F-35 jets have arrived in the country

Key Points

• Finland's first two F-35A fighter jets landed at the Lapland Air Wing in Rovaniemi on Sept. 18, 2026, after a ferry flight from Texas.
• Finland plans to field all 64 jets by the end of 2030, reaching initial operational capability in early 2028.

 

[Scott Kenny]

What other rounds of approval do they need?

FMS needs Department of State approval before sending the proposal to Congress.

 

[GTX]

I wonder how many they will get eventually.

Well 48 are all that are approved (and presumably asked for) at this stage

 

[GTX]

FMS needs Department of State approval before sending the proposal to Congress.

U.S. Department of State approval has been given

 

[GTX]

https://www.politico.eu/article/germany-gets-its-first-f-35-as-europes-fighter-plans-fall-apart/

 

[Scott Kenny]

U.S. Department of State approval has been given

Correct, but I was attempting to explain that FMS is a two-step process.

 

[GTX]

No problem

 

[Colonial-Marine]

With all of the orders on the books how long would it be before they actually get any F-35s delivered? Considering the performance of the Royal Saudi Air Force I think those airframes would do better in the hands of just about anyone else.

 

[helmutkohl]

Luftwaffe F-35 roll out
Source: Lockheed Martin FB page

 

[snne]

Luftwaffe F-35 roll out
Source: Lockheed Martin FB page
View attachment 824099View attachment 824100View attachment 824101

Surprised nobody's posted this yet... There's a fair bit of exposed rivets here (for those who like to claim the F-35 has no exposed rivets), and I don't think we've ever had this good a look at some of these finer details before:

Definitely one for the archives...

https://twitter.com/x/status/2100481184690028753

View: https://x.com/LMEuropeNews/status/2100481184690028753?s=20

 

[GTX]

Surprised nobody's posted this yet... There's a fair bit of exposed rivets here (for those who like to claim the F-35 has no exposed rivets), and I don't think we've ever had this good a look at some of these finer details before:

Definitely one for the archives...

https://twitter.com/x/status/2100481184690028753

View: https://x.com/LMEuropeNews/status/2100481184690028753?s=20

Look more like removable fasteners than rivets to me

 

[snne]

Look more like removable fasteners than rivets to me

Yeah, I momentarily forgot what it's called -- English isn't my native language as you might have guessed

Edit: Wanted to add this comparison here just so that this particular post of mine actually contributes something to the topic

 

[Colonial-Marine]

I never figured the F-35 was going to see Luftwaffe service, it didn't seem like it would fill any particular role for them until the "special weapons" topic came up since apparently the Typhoon couldn't do that. Nice to see it in German markings.

In theory the IRIS-T missile shouldn't be that hard to integrate on the outer wing pylons, but considering how software development for the F-35 still manages to be a complete mess somehow, I'm guessing they're just buying AIM-9Xs.

 

[quellish]

Not what they're doing with the F-22 LO-pylons.
Assuming they are working on a similiar solution for the F-35 is not unreasonable.

They are not. As has been discussed many times there are aerodynamic issues with external tanks on the F-35, and no one wants to pay to solve these issues.