The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is a family of stealth multirole fighters that first entered service with the United States in 2015. The aircraft has been ordered by program partner nations, including the United Kingdom, Italy, Norway, and Australia, and also through the Department of Defense's Foreign Military Sales program, including Japan, South Korea, and Israel. The units that operate or plan on operating the aircraft are listed below.

Operators

F-35A

Royal Australian Air Force – 72 operational. RAAF Base Williamtown, New South Wales No. 2 OCU No. 3 Squadron No. 77 Squadron RAAF Base Tindal, Northern Territory No. 75 Squadron

Belgian Air Force – 4 operational, 45 planned. Florennes Air Base 2nd Tactical Wing Kleine Brogel Air Base 10th Tactical Wing

Royal Canadian Air Force – 88 ordered in January 2023. The first eight aircraft are expected to be flown from Luke Air Force Base, starting in 2026 for the training of Canadian pilots. First squadron operational in 2029 and full fleet operational by 2032 to 2034.

Czech Air Force – The U.S. State Department approved a possible sale to the Czech Republic of F-35 aircraft, munitions and related equipment worth up to $5.62 billion, according to a 29 June 2023 announcement.US State Dept. clears $5.6 billion sale of F-35s for Czech Republic On 29 January 2024, the Czech government signed a memorandum of understanding with the United States for the purchase of 24 F-35A fighters.

Royal Danish Air Force – 17 delivered out of 43 planned. The first four aircraft are expected to be flown from Luke Air Force Base, starting in 2021 for the training of Danish pilots. The first four aircraft arrived at Skrydstrup Air Base in September 2023 with 13 more having been delivered to Skrydstrup in January 2025. Full operational capability for the first 27 is expected in 2027; the second batch of 16 has secured no production slot yet. Skrydstrup Air Base, Vojens Eskadrille 727

Finnish Air Force – 64 ordered. Lapland Air Wing, Rovaniemi Air Base Hävittäjälentolaivue 11 Karelia Air Wing, Rissala Air Base Hävittäjälentolaivue 31

German Air Force – 35 ordered. Taktisches Luftwaffengeschwader 33, Büchel Air Base

Hellenic Air Force – 20 ordered with an option to buy 20 more.

Italian Air Force – 42 operational, out of 75 ordered. Amendola Air Base, Apulia 32º Stormo Ghedi Air Base, Lombardy 6º Stormo

Japan Air Self-Defense Force – 46 operational; with a total order of 105 F-35A variants. 41 of these F-35As are being built by Mitsubishi. Misawa Air Base, Aomori 301st Hikōtai 302nd Hikōtai

Royal Netherlands Air and Space Force – 49 operational, from 58 ordered. Leeuwarden Air Base No. 322 Squadron Volkel Air Base No. 312 Squadron No. 313 Squadron

Royal Norwegian Air Force – 52 operational. Ørland Main Air Station, Trøndelag 331 Skvadron 332 Skvadron Testing, trening og taktikk Skvadron

Polish Air Force – 8 operational, from 32 ordered.

Romanian Air Force – The first order for 32 F-35 fighters worth $6.5 billion was concluded on 21 November 2024. Plans are to buy a further 16 F-35s for a total of 48 which will replace the current Romanian F-16s between 2034 and 2040.

Republic of Singapore Air Force – 8 ordered in 2024, to be delivered from 2030.

Republic of Korea Air Force – 39 operational out of 60 ordered. 17th Fighter Wing - Cheongju AFB 151st Fighter Squadron 152nd Fighter Squadron

Swiss Air Force – 36 on order to replace F-5E/F Tiger II and F/A-18C/D Hornet. Deliveries will begin in 2027 and conclude in 2030.

Royal Air Force – 12 on order

United States Air Force – 443 operational, 1,763 planned. Air Combat Command 23rd Wing – Moody AFB, Georgia (Planned for 2029) 33d Fighter Wing – Eglin AFB, Florida 57th Fighter Squadron – Ebbing ANGB, Arkansas 58th Fighter Squadron 60th Fighter Squadron 53d Wing – Eglin AFB, Florida 31st Test and Evaluation Squadron – Edwards AFB, California (53d Test and Evaluation Group) 422d Test and Evaluation Squadron – Nellis AFB, Nevada (53d Test and Evaluation Group) 57th Wing – Nellis AFB, Nevada 6th Weapons Squadron 65th Aggressor Squadron 325th Fighter Wing – Tyndall AFB, Florida 95th Fighter Squadron Additional unspecified squadron Additional unspecified squadron 388th Fighter Wing – Hill AFB, Utah 4th Fighter Squadron 34th Fighter Squadron 421st Fighter Squadron 495th Fighter Group – Shaw AFB, South Carolina 315th Fighter Squadron (Active Associate) – Burlington ANGB, Vermont 377th Fighter Squadron (Active Associate) – Dannelly Field ANGB, Alabama 378th Fighter Squadron (Active Associate) – Truax Field ANGB, Wisconsin Air Education and Training Command 56th Fighter Wing – Luke AFB, Arizona 61st Fighter Squadron 62d Fighter Squadron 63d Fighter Squadron 308th Fighter Squadron 310th Fighter Squadron 312th Fighter Squadron Air Force Reserve Command 301st Fighter Wing 457th Fighter Squadron 419th Fighter Wing – Hill AFB, Utah 466th Fighter Squadron Air Force Materiel Command 412th Test Wing – Edwards AFB, California 461st Flight Test Squadron Air National Guard 104th Fighter Wing – Barnes ANGB, Massachusetts 131st Fighter Squadron 115th Fighter Wing – Truax Field ANGB, Wisconsin 176th Fighter Squadron 125th Fighter Wing – Jacksonville ANGB, Florida 159th Fighter Squadron 158th Fighter Wing – Burlington ANGB, Vermont 134th Fighter Squadron 173d Fighter Wing – Kingsley Field ANGB, Oregon (Planned for 2026) 114th Fighter Squadron 187th Fighter Wing – Dannelly Field ANGB, Alabama 100th Fighter Squadron Pacific Air Forces 35th Fighter Wing – Misawa Air Base, Japan 13th Fighter Squadron 354th Fighter Wing – Eielson AFB, Alaska 355th Fighter Squadron 356th Fighter Squadron United States Air Forces in Europe 48th Fighter Wing – RAF Lakenheath, United Kingdom 493d Fighter Squadron 495th Fighter Squadron United States Navy Operational Test and Evaluation Force Air Test and Evaluation Squadron Nine(VX-9)-Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake

F-35I

Israeli Air Force – "around 50" currently operational, from 75 ordered. Nevatim Airbase, Nevatim 140 Squadron 116 Squadron 117 Squadron Tel Nof Airbase Flight Test Center - Testbed aircraft

F-35B

Italian Air Force – 5 delivered, out of 20 ordered. Amendola Air Base, Apulia 32º Stormo Italian Navy – 10 delivered, out of 20 ordered. Gruppo Aerei Imbarcati

Japan Air Self-Defense Force – 8 delivered out of at least 27 ordered, out of 42 planned, also planning to deploy to Nyutabaru Air Base.

Republic of Singapore Air Force – up to 12 planned.

- The first 48 delivered. 1 lost. 138 F35s planned over life of programme. Royal Air Force Edwards Air Force Base, California, US No. 17 Squadron (Operational Evaluation Unit) – 3 operated for testing RAF Marham, Norfolk, UK No. 207 Squadron (Operational Conversion Unit) No. 617 Squadron Additional unspecified squadron possible Royal Navy RAF Marham, Norfolk, UK 809 Naval Air Squadron Additional unspecified squadron possible

United States Marine Corps – 280 planned. MCAS Iwakuni, Japan VMFA-121 VMFA-242 MCAS Yuma, Arizona VMX-1 VMFA-122 VMFA-211 VMFA-214 VMFA-225 MCAS Beaufort, South Carolina VMFAT-501 VMFA-533 VMFA-224 MCAS Cherry Point VMFA-542 VMFA-231 MCAS Miramar, California VMFAT-502

F-35C

United States Marine Corps – 140 planned. Eglin AFB, Florida VFA-101 (2013–2019) MCAS Cherry Point, North Carolina VMFA-251 VMFA-115 MCAS Miramar, California VMFA-311 VMFA-314 United States Navy – 260 planned. Edwards AFB, California VX-9 NAS Patuxent River, Maryland VX-23 Eglin AFB, Florida VFA-101 (2013–2019) NAS Lemoore, California VFA-86 VFA-97 VFA-115 VFA-125 MCAS Iwakuni, Japan VFA-147

Potential operators

Royal Moroccan Air Force – It is reported that Morocco is interested in purchasing F-35s in a US$18 billion deal to counter Algeria's Su-57 acquisition.https://defencesecurityasia.com/en/morocco-f35-stealth-fighter-us-deal-north-africa-airpower-shift/

Indian Air Force – In February 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump had offered the F-35 to Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India, which as of March 2025, was also mulling a competing offer from Russia's Sukhoi Su-57. However, in late July 2025, Bloomberg reported that India has already rejected its requirement of the aircraft. While the Indian Ministry of Defence has not confirmed any of this, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs maintained that India has not held any formal discussions about the aircraft's procurement with the USA.

Former potential operators

Republic of China Air Force – In 2011, it was reported that Taiwan would procure a 5th Generation fighter such as the F-35. A renewed push for purchasing the F-35 happened in early 2017, and again in March 2018. However, by November 2018 it was reported that the Taiwanese military leadership abandoned the F-35 program in favor of the F-16V Viper. Reportedly, the decision was motivated by concerns about industry independence, and Chinese espionage concerns.

Spanish Navy / Spanish Air Force – In 2023, the Spanish government included €6.25 billion in its budget requirements to begin the process of replacing combat aircraft used by both the Navy and the Air Force. The Navy's plan was to retire its AV-8B Harrier aircraft by 2030; due to being a STOVL aircraft carrier, the only feasible alternative to the Harrier was the F-35B. The Air Force were also looking at the F-35A to replace its F/A-18 Hornets while the Future Combat Air System was under development. However, in 2025, the government elected to end any interest in the procurement of either version of the F-35. For the Air Force, Spain instead elected to make new purchases of the Eurofighter Typhoon, while the Navy faced the potential of a fixed-wing aviation gap after 2030.

Royal Thai Air Force – 8 or 12 planned to replace F-16A/B Block 15 ADF in service. On 12 January 2022, Thailand's cabinet approved a budget for the first four F-35A, estimated at 13.8 billion baht in FY2023. On 22 May 2023 The United States Department of Defense has implied it will turn down Thailand's bid to buy F-35 fighter jets, and instead offer F-16V Viper and F-15EX Eagle II fighters, a Royal Thai Air Force source said.

Turkish Air Force – 4 F-35A delivered and withheld at Luke Air Force Base. 30 F-35s were ordered, of up to 100 total planned. Future purchases have been banned by the U.S. with contracts canceled by early 2020. On 1 February 2024 the U.S. expressed a willingness to readmit Turkey into the F-35 program in the event of a satisfactory resolution of the S-400 issue.

United Arab Emirates Air Force – Up to 50 had been planned, although the sale was suspended and reviewed by the Biden administration. In December 2021 UAE withdrew from the purchase of F-35s as it did not agree to the additional contract terms added by the US.

Ship-based platforms Ship-based platform activation includes:

F-35B

(planned for 2026)

(planned for 2028)

Cavour-class aircraft carrier

Trieste-class amphibious assault ship

(planned for 2027) (planned for 2028) F-35C

(planned for 2028) (planned for 2026)

(planned for 2028)

See also Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II procurement

Notes

References