Four RAF F-35B Lightning jets have arrived in Iceland, where they will undertake NATO's air policing mission to the country. This marks a first for the type in UK service. (Crown Copyright)
The UK has deployed four Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning combat aircraft to Keflavík Air Base to conduct NATO air policing and training duties over Iceland.
The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced the detachment on 8 August, saying that four aircraft and support crews from the Royal Air Force's (RAF's) 617 ‘Dambusters' Squadron had already arrived in Iceland from their home stations at RAF Marham in England.
“Following a successful [NATO air policing] mission in Romania, where six [Eurofighter] Typhoon fighter jets and over 200 personnel were stationed at Mihail Kogălniceanu Air Base, defending NATO's eastern border, the RAF will now move to Iceland. This time, four cutting-edge F-35B jets from 617 Squadron will be patrolling Icelandic airspace, having travelled from RAF Marham,” the MoD said.
The four jets and their crews will conduct a pre-deployment workup of about two weeks before taking on air policing duties.
UK first
As noted in the announcement, this is the first UK air policing detachment to Iceland since 2019. With that and all other current NATO air policing duties being the preserve of the Typhoon Force, this is the first time that the UK Lightning Force has been tasked with the land-based air-defence mission (sea-based aircraft carrier air defence is one of its core tasks).
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