Media: Norway lacks missiles for all its F-35 fighter jets

If Norway is attacked and the fighters have to fight enemy fighters in the air, there will not be enough missiles to arm all the planes at once.

As “European Truth” writes, broadcaster NRK learned about this.

Norway purchased new F-35 fighter jets worth tens of billions of kroner. The purchase has been described as the largest public sector investment of all time.

These aircraft play a key role in defending Norway in the event of an enemy attack.

From 2022, new aircraft are responsible for responding to emergency situations. Since then, it was the F-35 that was supposed to defend Norway from the air. The F-16s have been decommissioned and disposed of.

However, the supply of ammunition for the most important type of weapon for the new combat aircraft is very low.

If Norway is attacked and the F-35 pilots have to fight in in the air with enemy fighters, there will not be enough missiles to arm all the planes at once.

Carsten Fries, a security researcher at the Norwegian Foreign Policy Institute (Nupi), believes that the war situation in Europe makes it even more important to have sufficient stockpiles of weapons.

“If this is true, it is terrible. After all, you defense system so that it can be used. If a combat aircraft can only fly and not shoot, then the job is simply not done,” – says Fries when he hears about the situation that became known to NRK.

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Weapons, the stocks of which are small, – these are AMRAAM type missiles. These missiles are used by F-35 fighter jets to combat enemies and other threats in the air.

Based on public information, as well as information from several independent sources with knowledge of the situation, NRK knows that the Norwegian Armed Forces have a low stockpile of missiles of this important type.

The Ministry of Defense calls the AMRAAM missiles “the primary weapon that Norwegian combat aircraft will use to protect Norwegian airspace.” The F-35 also has other weapons for air combat, but these missiles have the longest range of any weapon available today.

More missiles were ordered in late 2022, but have not yet been delivered. According to Defense Material, the delivery time for such weapons is usually between two and four years. But with the outbreak of a full-scale war in Ukraine, this only became a more difficult task.

After the full-scale war in Ukraine began, the demand for AMRAAM missiles increased dramatically. The manufacturer Raytheon in the USA has publicly stated that they are producing all they can, but still produce no more than 1,200 missiles per year.

Currently, 40 new aircraft have been delivered to Norway, which are used from the main base in Orland and a reserve base in Evense.

As reported, the US State Department approved the sale to Norway of advanced medium-range air-to-air missiles AIM-120 (AMRAAM) for $405 million.

Before the United States hereby approves the sale to Romania of AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles, compatible with F-16 and F-35 fighter jets, to strengthen its air defenses.