Kongsberg awarded F-35 Lots 20-22 production contract

Norway’s Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace has signed an agreement with US defence prime Lockheed Martin with an expected value of NOK 2bn ($208.6m) for deliveries of components to the F-35 fighter programme.

Detailed in an 18 March release from Kongsberg, the agreement extends the company’s ongoing production of F-35 components through to 2030, supporting all three variants of the F-35 fifth-generation stealth fighter.

The deliveries to production Lots 20–22 of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter programme include aircraft rudders, vertical leading edges and main landing gear closeout panels, produced at Kongsberg’s manufacturing facilities in Norway.

Norway is one of the leading operators of the F-35 platform and was the first to complete the acquisition of its intended order, receiving the last of its 52 F-35A fighters in 2025. The fighters are stationed at Ørland and Evenes air bases.

The Royal Norwegian Air Force operates the so-called conventional F-35A variant, rather than the vertical-landing ‘B’ model operated by the US Marine Corps, UK Royal Navy, and RAF, or the ‘C’ variant, which is dedicated to naval operations with the US Navy.

Norway still benefitting from F-35 programme

Despite Norway completing its planned programme of record for F-35 fighter acquisition, the country’s industry, such as Kongsberg, will still benefit from ongoing manufacturing of the platform, which is widely operated across Nato’s air forces.

Through a workshare arrangement, non-US countries who chose to partner with the United States were provided with industrial offsets, in what is the largest defence programme in history.

As of early-2026, over 1,300 F-35 aircraft, across the three variants, have been delivered to militaries, with the US the primary operator. The latest production Lots, 18-19, are ongoing, with contracts for Lot 20 and beyond currently being issued across the industrial base.