In Finland US Air Force F-35A Lightning II fighter jets have proved their ability to use European highways as runways for the first time.
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For the first time, US Air Force fifth-generation fighter jets have proved their ability to use European highways as runways.
Two F-35A Lightning II fighters landed on a strip of road of about 30 metres [sic] wide in the region of Lapland (Finland), as part of Exercise BAANA 24. This exercise ran from 31 August to 6 September 2024 and featured the participation of personnel and assets from Allied countries Finland, Germany and the United States. The Finnish Air Force routinely uses reinforced highways as backup runways, enhancing their ability to operate in the event of a conflict. Since Finland has joined NATO, Allied air forces have increasingly refined their ability to land on roads, strengthening their coordination with their Finnish counterparts in case of a crisis.
The landing was undertaken by two US Air Force F-35A Lightning II aircraft assigned to the 493rd Fighter Squadron, 48th Fighter Wing, currently based at Royal Air Force Lakenheath in the United Kingdom. A number of other Allied aircraft also took turns landing on the highway for BAANA 24. These included a Eurofighter Typhoon (Germany), an F/A-18 Hornet (Finland), a Hawk (Finland), a Pilatus PC-12NG (Finland), a Learjet 35A/S (Finland) and an MC-130J Commando II (USA). After almost 30 years of close partnership with NATO, Finland joined the Alliance as a new member in April 2023.
This NATO Multimedia B-roll footage,filmed at Ranua on 03 September and released yesterday, includes shots of US F-35As, a German Eurofighter Typhoon, a Finnish F/A-18 Hornet and a Finnish Hawk aircraft, plus soundbites from representatives of Finland, Germany and the United States.
Shot list:-
- 00:00 ~ US Air Force F-35A Lightning II Aircraft taking off, flying over and landing on highway
- 00:42 ~ German Air Force Eurofighter Typhoon flying over highway, taking off from highway, taxiing on highway
- 02:03 ~ Finnish Air Force Hawk aircraft flying over highway
- 02:15 ~ Finnish Air Force F/A-18 Hornet Landing on highway
- 02:24 ~ Finnish Air Force F/A-18 Hornet on highway
- 02:36 ~ Finnish Air Force Colonel Saku Joukas undertaking pre-flight check of F/A-18 Hornet
- 03:03 ~ Finnish Air Force F/A-18 Hornet Taxiing on highway, flying above highway
- 03:35 ~ Soundbite – Lt Col David Deal, US Air Force
- 04:27 ~ Soundbite – Lt Col David Deal, US Air Force
- 05:00 ~ Soundbite – Col Saku Joukas, Finnish Air Force
- 06:09 ~ Soundbite – Lt Col Köttig, German Air Force
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