Italian F-35B Fighters Highway Operations in Finland Signal NATO Shift to Dispersed Air Warfare.

Italian Air Force F-35B Lightning II fighter aircraft conduct highway operations in Finland for the first time during the Imminent Field 26 exercise, placing fifth-generation combat aircraft inside Finland’s dispersed road base network under realistic operational conditions. The deployment demonstrates how NATO air forces increasingly prepare to sustain combat operations under missile threat conditions while preserving sortie generation capacity and reducing dependence on fixed infrastructure vulnerable to long- range precision strikes.

The exercise takes place at the Jokioinen alternate landing site on Highway 2 as part of Finland’s long-established mobile combat concept, which trains fighter aircraft to disperse rapidly across secondary operating locations in wartime. Finnish Air Force aircraft perform touch-and-go landings and takeoffs throughout the day, while Italian F-35Bs carry out short landing and takeoff procedures enabled by their short takeoff and vertical landing configuration.

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According to information released on May 19 2026, by the Finnish Air Force, the Satakunta Air Wing organizes Imminent Field 26 between May 18 and 22 to rehearse road base operations integrated into the training of all Finnish Air Force pilots. The exercise includes for the first time, Italian Air Force Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II fighter aircraft operating from Pirkkala Air Force Base before conducting short landings and takeoffs at the Jokioinen road base.

The participation of the Italian F-35B reflects a broader shift in NATO air doctrine toward Agile Combat Employment and distributed operations. Rather than concentrating combat aircraft at a limited number of large air bases, allied air forces increasingly train to disperse aircraft across improvised locations capable of supporting combat sorties in contested environments. Finland has maintained this philosophy since the Cold War, relying on road infrastructure and temporary deployment sites to complicate enemy targeting cycles and preserve operational continuity after attacks on fixed bases.

For the Italian Air Force, the deployment also serves as a practical evaluation of expeditionary operations with the F-35B variant. Italian defense officials already indicated earlier in 2026 that Rome was examining the possibility of operating F-35 aircraft from highways should conventional airfields become threatened. Remarks delivered in February by Lt. Gen. Silvano Frigerio, commander of the Italian Air Force Operational Forces Command, underline growing concern within European air forces regarding the survivability of permanent installations against long range missile attacks and stand off precision weapons.

Italy remains one of the largest European operators of the Lightning II family and the only continental European country fielding both the conventional takeoff F-35A and the short takeoff and vertical landing F-35B variants. Rome originally planned the acquisition of 131 aircraft before reducing the program to 90 units, including 60 F-35As and 30 F-35Bs for the Italian Air Force and Navy. Deliveries began in 2015 through the Final Assembly and Check Out facility at Cameri in northern Italy, which also serves as a maintenance and assembly hub for European operators. The Italian Navy operates the F-35B aboard the aircraft carrier ITS Cavour, while the Italian Air Force employs the variant for expeditionary operations and dispersed basing concepts.

Unlike the conventional F-35A, the F-35B integrates a patented shaft-driven LiftFan propulsion system coupled with the Pratt and Whitney F135-PW-600 turbofan engine, allowing short takeoff and vertical landing operations from constrained surfaces. This propulsion architecture overcomes many of the thermal and power limitations traditionally associated with direct lift systems and gives the aircraft the ability to operate from roads, austere deployment areas, damaged runways, and amphibious assault ships. The aircraft reaches a maximum speed of approximately 1,600 kilometers per hour with a combat range of around 1,667 kilometers, while maintaining an empty weight of close to 14,500 kilograms.

The F-35B’s operational flexibility also comes from its reconfigurable internal weapons bay. Depending on mission requirements, the aircraft can carry air-to-air missiles, precision-guided air-to-ground munitions, or a mixed combat load while preserving low observable characteristics. A missionized 25 mm GAU-22A cannon pod can also be installed when required. When stealth constraints are reduced, external pylons increase total weapons payload capacity to more than 15,000 pounds, allowing the aircraft to transition rapidly from penetration missions to heavier strike profiles.

The aircraft also brings advanced sensor and networking capabilities that transform it into a forward battlefield intelligence node rather than only a strike fighter. Its AN/APG-81 active electronically scanned array radar supports simultaneous air and surface tracking with reduced probability of detection, while the AN/AAQ-37 Distributed Aperture System composed of six infrared sensors provides complete spherical situational awareness. The AN/ASQ-239 Barracuda electronic warfare suite further strengthens survivability through threat detection, geolocation, and electronic attack functions during contested operations.

Imminent Field 26 continues a sequence of F-35 highway operations conducted in Finland over recent years. Royal Norwegian Air Force F-35As became the first Lightning II aircraft to use Finnish road bases during Baana 23. U.S. Air Force F-35As from the 495th Fighter Squadron followed in 2024, marking the first operation of an American fighter aircraft from a Finnish highway strip. Dutch F-35As participated in 2025 before Italy introduced the F-35B variant during the current edition. The progression illustrates how dispersed fifth- generation operations are gradually becoming normalized within NATO’s northern flank.

Highway operations reduce dependence on predictable air base infrastructure and force adversaries to monitor a wider network of potential launch locations. Even temporary dispersal complicates surveillance planning, missile allocation, and strike sequencing. Combined with the F-35B’s low observable design and STOVL capability, the concept creates layered survivability in which aircraft become harder to detect, track, and neutralize before launch. Preserving even limited sortie generation capability after attacks against fixed runways could shape the opening phase of a peer conflict in northern Europe.

The Finnish highway exercise offers a concrete preview of how NATO could sustain air operations during the opening phase of a conflict against a peer adversary capable of targeting fixed infrastructure with long range precision missiles. For Italy, the deployment is particularly revealing because it validates the use of the F-35B not only as a carrier based strike aircraft aboard ITS Cavour, but also as a survivable expeditionary fighter able to relocate rapidly across dispersed northern operating sites. In practical terms, this creates new operational corridors between the Arctic, Baltic, and North Atlantic theaters where allied stealth aircraft can continue flying even after conventional runways are degraded or destroyed.

The exercise also reinforces Finland’s growing role inside NATO’s northern air architecture following its accession to the alliance. By combining Finland’s long standing road base doctrine with Italian fifth generation aviation assets, NATO moves closer to a distributed air combat network stretching from Scandinavia to the Mediterranean. That evolution complicates Russian operational planning because dispersed F-35 detachments become far more difficult to track, target, and suppress than traditional centralized fighter deployments. Rather than a symbolic training event, the appearance of Italian F-35Bs on Finnish highways demonstrates how European NATO members are quietly reshaping combat aviation doctrine around mobility, persistence, and survivability under sustained missile pressure.

Written By Erwan Halna du Fretay - Defense Analyst, Army Recognition Group
Erwan Halna du Fretay holds a Master’s degree in International Relations and has experience studying conflicts and global arms transfers. His research interests lie in security and strategic studies, particularly the dynamics of the defense industry, the evolution of military technologies, and the strategic transformation of armed forces.