The Royal Norwegian Air Force (RNoAF) will retire its current fleet of F-16AM/BM (MLU) Fighting Falcons by the end of the year, Key.Aero can confirm, leaving the service reliant on its new F-35A stealth fighter for all fixed-wing combat duties from 2022 onwards.
Detailing its proposed 2022 defence budget on October 12, the Norwegian Ministry of Defence stated that by the end of 2021, the RNoAF was expected to operate 34 F-35A aircraft, 24 of which will be based in Norway with the remaining ten airframes remaining in the US for training purposes. The budget proposal stated that from 2022 the only fixed-wing fighter in service would be the F-35A.
Confirming the news of the retirement date of the F-16AM/BM (MLU) fleet, a Norwegian Ministry of Defence spokesperson told Key.Aero the aircraft would be made ready for sale and that “before Christmas” there would be a full takeover of operational responsibilities by the F-35A.
