After Bodø air station was closed down and the F-35 fighter jets were placed at Ørland and Evenes, there is a critical shortage of mechanics in the Air Force. The Defense Commission pointed to the critical shortage of aircraft mechanics going forward in its report, which was presented last week. Today, the Air Force solves the problem of hiring technical personnel from F35 manufacturer Lockheed Martin, among others. – The air force has challenges in recruiting and retaining enough technical personnel for the combat aircraft, states Defense Minister Bjørn Arild Gram (Sp) to news. If an unknown aircraft approaches Norway’s and NATO’s airspace, the F-35 moves out from Evenes and is in the air within 15 minutes. Today, two aircraft are stationed here. Photo: Ronja Natalie Røe Nilsen/Forsvaret And adds: – We cannot put ourselves in a situation where the planes are left on the ground due to a lack of technical personnel. It is necessary to implement measures in both the short and long term, says Gram. According to the Minister of Defence, the plan is to hire technical personnel from the manufacturer Lockheed Martin until 2023. Today there are four aviation specialist lines in Norway. The government is now proposing to allocate close to NOK 60 million to secure enough technicians for the F-35. 15 million will go to the newly established flight major at Fosen upper secondary school. – A declaration of bankruptcy The million grants will not solve the problems in the short term, believes union representative Sigurd Myrvoll, who has worked in the Defense Forces in Bodø for over 30 years. – Getting an aviation specialist or technician trained takes time. It takes up to five years before the technician is put into production. Then it takes more time before you get the experience that you can start turning on F35. The QRA base at Evenes air station 1.1 2022 took over the F-35 for the F-16 – the aircraft that has guarded Norwegian airspace for 40 years. Evenes is now the Norwegian Air Force’s forward base in the north for F-35s and the main base for P-8 maritime surveillance aircraft. Norway solves the QRA on behalf of NATO. The mission means that Norway has two F-35s on standby 24/7. If an unknown aircraft approaches Norwegian and NATO airspace, the F-35 moves out from Evenes and is in the air within 15 minutes. The Air Force’s control and warning personnel then launch the combat aircraft against the unknown aircraft. The Norwegian fighter planes must observe the planes and identify what kind of plane they are and where they come from. There are now two F-35 fighter jets on fixed 15-minute QRA readiness (Quick Reaction Alert) for Norway and NATO. The new P-8 maritime surveillance aircraft are also based at Evenes. The first planes arrived in 2022. The main base for the F-35 fighter jets is at Ørland air station in Trøndelag. The F-35 must achieve full operational capability in 2025. In total, Norway has ordered 52 F-35 aircraft at a price tag of over NOK 90 billion, which need extensive maintenance. According to the agreement, Norway will receive six new F-35s from the factory at Lockheed Martin in the USA annually. In the week of May 11, two new flights will arrive in Norway. Photo: Ole Andreas Vekve / Forsvaret Myrvoll believes the lack of aircraft technicians makes us vulnerable. – It is a declaration of bankruptcy that we have to hire personnel from Lockheed Martin to keep the F35 in the air. We buy combat aircraft for NOK 100 billion, but we do not have the personnel to operate them ourselves. It costs enormous sums to hire personnel, he points out. Myrvoll says that there are generally too few employees per plane in Norway compared to other countries in Europe. – Norway has settled on a minimum. He says that when Bodø airport was closed down, there were 110 aviation workers and flight technicians at the station. Representative Sigurd Myrvoll in Fellesforbundet, which organizes 1,100 skilled workers in the Armed Forces. – We had stable personnel at Bodø airport. This is not the case today, and one of the reasons is a problem with commuting to Ørland and Evenes, he believes. Photo: Monica White Martinsen / news – Unfortunately, only a few of these joined the load to Ørland and the QRA base at Evenes. This is one of the biggest problems, and the reason why we have ended up in the current situation, says Myrvoll. According to the Minister of Defence, there is no escaping the assistance from the Americans. – Our new material and new systems are very complex and maintenance will always depend on cooperation with other nations and civil industry, says Gram. Want to screw up the F-35 Vår Horven (19) and Krister Zachariassen (18) are training to become aircraft mechanics at Bodø upper secondary school. There is great excitement about them when they are finished. Next year, Horven will have an apprenticeship at Ørland air station. The big dream is to screw up the F-35. Our Horven from Røros is in his last year studying aviation, avionics at Bodø upper secondary school. Being able to work with Norway’s new combat aircraft is the dream. Photo: Monica White Martinsen / news – There is a lot of advanced technology. If I enjoy myself there, and am offered a job after the apprenticeship, I would like to work there in the future. The classmate from Steinkjer, on the other hand, is not tempted by a future in the Armed Forces. – No, I think a company like Widerøe suits me better. Besides, I enjoy Bodø and want to settle here. Krister Zachariassen has opted out of the Armed Forces. He has been given an apprenticeship at Widerøe in Bodø. Photo: Monica White Martinsen / news Tiring commuting life According to the Trade Union, which organizes 1,100 skilled workers in the Norwegian Armed Forces, 6 out of ten of the skilled aviation workers commute to Ørland. – It is this personnel, who already commutes to Ørland today, who will also commute to Evenes for periods. Commuter life is tiring in the long run, says union representative Sigurd Myrvoll. He tells of many inquiries from colleagues who are just waiting for retirement to avoid commuting. – We can imagine what commuting will entail in terms of wear and tear on the personnel over time. – Need to hire more quickly The Minister of Defense is quite clear that more people need to be hired more quickly for the Armed Forces than what the previous government’s long-term plan calls for. – It is stupid that there is such a shortage of aircraft mechanics. I wish there were more people who wanted to try, says Vår Horven (right) Photo: Monica White Martinsen / news At the same time, he acknowledges that in today’s job market, technical competence is highly sought after, and that it is therefore challenging for the Norwegian Armed Forces to retain aviation workers. – These are issues we are working to solve, but flexible collaborative solutions will be important to ensure our preparedness, also in the future. Regardless, our goal is to ensure a robust ability to carry out maintenance in the Armed Forces.
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– A declaration of bankruptcy, says union representative – news Nordland
