Finnish Air Force aircraft maintenance personnel begin F-35 initial training in the United States

The first group of Finnish Air Force personnel began their initial training in September at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida, where they will receive theoretical and simulator training on the F-35 multi-role fighter.

The Air Force will send pilots, aircraft maintenance personnel and personnel involved with F-35 data systems to the training in detachments. The first contingent, which began training in September at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida, consists of aircraft maintenance personnel. Lieutenant Colonel Mikko Takalo is the most senior officer of the first aircraft maintenance team.

– Eglin provides excellent conditions for F-35 initial training. A large number of personnel are trained there – thousands of students have already been through the training programme. We will receive very high-quality training here, says Lieutenant Colonel Takalo.

The first detachment has been carrying out their regular duties in the Finnish Air Force maintenance organisation and training system until now. Takalo himself has spent the past year organising the F-35 initial training. The preparation for the Finnish personnel’s F-35 initial training has required and will continue to require close cooperation with US F-35 training organisations. 

– We have had a huge number of planning meetings and other arrangements. We have built the entity piece by piece. It is great to be at the point where all the pieces are starting to fall into place, and we are able to begin the actual initial training, Takalo says.

Earlier, Takalo shared his thoughts on the initial training at the kick-off event held in spring 2024. 

Theoretical and simulator training in Florida, practical training in Arkansas

The F-35 system's theoretical and simulator training is provided at the F-35 Academic Training Center at Eglin Air Force Base (Eglin AFB) in Florida. Eglin AFB is also where US Air Force aircraft maintenance personnel are trained to maintain the F-35 among other aircraft, and where F-35 user countries receive theoretical and simulator training on the system.

The F-35 initial training at Eglin AFB lasts about six months and is a type course combining theoretical instruction with practical training on dedicated training equipment. For aircraft maintenance personnel, the training aids include realistically modelled components of the multi-role fighter. With these aids, the personnel practise tasks such as arming the aircraft and engine maintenance procedures and inspections.

The F-35 initial training for all user countries at Eglin Air Force Base creates a standardised knowledge base, and the training is thoroughly documented. Theoretical and simulator training as well as the practical phase are carefully recorded in training databases, enabling instructors to monitor each student’s progress. Maintenance tasks are first carried out in a computer simulator as per the maintenance manual, and each action is recorded. After training in the simulator, the same procedure is performed on the training equipment. Each trainee receives a record of the initial training, documenting the completed courses and course performance.

After completing the theoretical and simulator training phase in Florida, the Finnish personnel will move on to practical training at Ebbing Air National Guard Base (Ebbing ANGB) in Fort Smith, Arkansas. The base also trains F-35 personnel from Poland, Germany, Switzerland and Singapore. As a part of the practical training, Finland’s first F-35A multi-role fighters will be introduced into service. 

– The final phase of the initial training involves practical training on the F-35 fighters at Ebbing in Arkansas. There we will work within Lockheed Martin’s maintenance organisation, carrying out the training as members of their team. The training path thus progresses from general to specific and culminates in training on the actual aircraft, Takalo explains.

After the practical training at Ebbing, the personnel who have completed the initial F-35 training will return to Finland and begin training Finnish personnel in operating the aircraft.

Knowledge to be transferred to Finland

The Finnish Air Force will receive Finland’s first F-35A multi-role fighters at Lapland Air Wing, in Rovaniemi, by the latter half of 2026. Training in Finland is to begin upon their arrival. The pilots, aircraft maintenance personnel and other specialists will start training the Finnish Defence Forces (FDF) salaried personnel in the operation of the F-35 system. 

– We will start soon after our return to Finland. In fact, we are building our national training system during our time in the United States. During the initial training we will observe and plan how to provide conversion training for FDF personnel and conscripts at home. The expertise will first be transferred from the United States, and then disseminated to our air wings and aircraft maintenance squadrons. Naturally, this sets high requirements and a great responsibility for those of us undertaking the initial training in the United States, Lieutenant Colonel Takalo notes.

For reservists, the F-35 conversion training will be carried out in refresher exercises. The first group of reservist assistant mechanics to undergo conversion training has been identified in preliminary planning, and the reservists concerned have been informed.

– The planning of the tasks in which reservists will be employed with the F-35 is still ongoing and progressing as part of our force structure work. Some of the reservists’ duties may change somewhat, but they will continue to be employed in many F-35 maintenance roles, such as line maintenance, loading and other support tasks, Takalo says.

The initial training in the U.S. provides a solid foundation of expertise for what Finland will need in the future as a militarily allied F-35 user country. International cooperation is a strong feature of the F-35 capability, as the F-35 Program is multinational and the extensive user community, with its twenty members, covers a geographically significant area. Twelve of the thirteen F-35 user countries in Europe are also NATO members, which further deepens military interoperability and cooperation between the countries.

– International cooperation has been part of the Air Force’s activities for over twenty years, and today it is part of everyday life at the squadron level. The introduction of the F-35 will further extend this collaboration. That is the direction we are heading, Takalo notes.

Defence Forces preparing comprehensively for the introduction of F-35 capability

The F-35 capability will have Defence Forces-wide impact, and its integration into the defence system will be visible across the entire FDF. Expertise and understanding related to the F-35 system are being acquired in advance and across multiple domains. Various training and exercise events are preparing FDF personnel for operating the system so that knowledge and expertise will already be in place when the first aircraft arrive in Finland.

• Services: Knowledge of the F-35 is widely shared across FDF in various internal events. At the end of August, US F-35 pilots visited Finland for the second time to brief FDF personnel. A similar event had already been organised earlier this year.
• Technical personnel and industry: The third and final part of the Engineering Seminars training sessions was held in early September. The training programme conducted by the F-35 manufacturer, Lockheed Martin, for key personnel of the FDF and national defence industry focused on F-35 systems, armament and airframe. The training series provided participants with a basic understanding of the multi-role fighter systems’ operation and introduced the aircraft from various perspectives. The training enhances FDF personnel preparedness in areas such as aircraft type certification, acceptance and airworthiness inspections, as well as continuous airworthiness management. 
• Pilots: Finnish pilots have already taken part three times in a Manned Tactical Simulator exercise events using F-35 simulators at Lockheed Martin in Fort Worth. In these events, the Air Force pilots trained on the simulators to familiarise themselves with the aircraft’s systems, cockpit procedures, and formation tactics in various, often quite challenging, joint operations.
• Pilot training: The Finnish Air Force is developing Nordic F-35 pilot training by deepening cooperation with Norway and now also with Denmark. One milestone in this cooperation was reached in June 2025, when the first Norwegian student pilots graduated from the Air Force Academy. They received their jet training in Finland, after which they will continue to the United States for F-35 training.

In addition, the Air Force regularly trains F-35 interoperability with its allies.

The production of Finland’s first F-35A fighters is underway at Lockheed Martin’s facility in Fort Worth, Texas. In early autumn, the first airframes will be awaiting final system checks on the production line. Finland’s first F-35, JF-501, will be unveiled at a rollout ceremony at the factory on 16 December. The first eight aircraft will be delivered to Ebbing ANGB. From JF-509 onwards, aircraft will be delivered directly to Finland.