In a moment that blurred the lines between reality and fiction, former U.S. President Donald Trump inadvertently claimed the United States was delivering the “F-52” fighter jets to Norway—a jet that does not exist in the real world but is a creation from the video game “Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare.”

The announcement came during a January 2018 White House news conference alongside Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg.

Trump, with characteristic bravado, declared, “In November we started delivering the first F-52s and F-35 fighter jets. We have a total of 52 and they’ve delivered a number of them already a little ahead of schedule.”

The F-52 slip, which might be attributed to Trump conflating the number of F-35 jets with a fictional designation, set off a flurry of confusion and fascination with the intersection of military reality and digital fantasy.

The real Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II, a genuine and controversial piece of modern airpower, is indeed being acquired by several European nations, including Norway, which intends to purchase up to 52 of these advanced aircraft.

This fifth-generation fighter combines stealth, agility, and state-of-the-art technology, offering capabilities that make it a lynchpin for both the U.S. and its allies in maintaining air superiority. To date, Norway has taken delivery of 10 F-35s, with more on the way.

Trump’s misstatement could easily be written off as a simple gaffe, but it also inadvertently shines a spotlight on the intrigue surrounding the future of aerial warfare. The fictional F-52 boasted capabilities like a “drop pod” for covert missions—elements that capture the imagination and raise the question of what the next advancements in military aviation might be.

In this vein, the U.S. military is indeed looking toward the future with the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program, which aims to produce a sixth-generation fighter that promises even greater stealth and capability than the F-22 and F-35.

The fascination with what could have been is not without precedent. During the 1980s, the Advanced Tactical Fighter Program of the United States Air Force led to the development of the YF-23, a prototype that, while never making it to production, served as inspiration for the video game’s F-52.

The YF-23 was a contender against the YF-22, which later evolved into the F-22 Raptor—the Air Force’s fifth-generation stealth fighter jet. The pursuit of airpower superiority has often led to the creation of aircraft that push the boundaries of what’s possible, with concepts that are sometimes too advanced or costly to realize.

Trump’s reference to the nonexistent F-52 jet also highlights the complex and often controversial politics of military equipment sales.

The president’s pride in the sale of the F-35s reflects the United States’ ongoing commitment to arm its allies amid escalating global tensions, especially with the looming threat posed by Russia to Ukraine at that time.

The intrigue around the F-52 reflects a broader interest in the development and deployment of advanced military technology, which captivates military enthusiasts, politics followers, and science fiction fans alike. The ongoing discourse not only focuses on the hardware itself but also the strategic implications these technologies have on international relations and defense policies.

The F-52 gaffe might have been a fleeting moment in the grand scheme of military affairs, but it encapsulates a broader truth: in an era of rapid technological progress, where advancements in military tech are often stranger than fiction, it’s sometimes hard to distinguish between the arsenal we have and the arsenal we imagine.

Trump may not have had a handle on military specifics, but his slip did inadvertently contribute to a greater conversation about the future of military aviation and the fascinating intersection of defense, politics, and imagination.

Relevant articles:
– Donald Trump Loved the F-52 Stealth Fighter (But It Doesn’t Exist), The National Interest
– Donald Trump Loves the F-52 Stealth Fighter. Problem: It Doesn’t Fly, The National Interest
– Trump touts sale of nonexistent fighter jet, CNN
– Watch Donald Trump’s Secret, Most Advanced Stealth Fighter Jet Ever: The F-52 Warplanes, EurAsian Times