This post was originally published on this site
https://i-invdn-com.investing.com/trkd-images/LYNXMPEJ8L09Y_L.jpg
The two Royal Norwegian Air Force aircraft landed in Tervo, central Finland, on Thursday afternoon as part of a military exercise.
Immediately after landing, refuelling was carried out with the engines running, a so-called “hotpit refuelling”, the Norwegian military said, before the planes took off again.
“Fighter jets are vulnerable on the ground, so by being able to use small airfields – and now motorways – (this) increases our survivability in war,” Major General Rolf Folland, chief of the Royal Norwegian Air Force, said in the statement.
Finland, which joined NATO in April, shares a 1,300 km (810 mile) border with Russia. Norway is a founding member of the alliance.
Another type of F-35, the F-35B which is able to land vertically, has landed on roads before. This was a first for this particular version of the F-35 jet, which cannot land vertically.
F-16s are also able to land on roads.
Finland is planning to buy 64 F-35 fighter jets from Lockheed Martin.
