A Lockheed Martin F-35 aircraft is seen at the ILA Air Show in Berlin, Germany, April 25, 2018. — Reuters pic
HELSINKI, Dec 10 — Finland will replace its fleet of ageing fighter jets with an order of 64 F-35A multi-role fighters from US contractor Lockheed Martin in a deal worth EUR8.4 billion (US$9.5 billion), the government said today.
“The F35 fulfilled the demands for preparedness, industrial cooperation and cost,” Defence minister Antti Kaikkonen told a press conference.
“In comparisons of the military capabilities, the F35 overall system was the best at meeting our needs,” he said, citing the plane’s “battle, intelligence and resilience capabilities”.
Lockheed Martin saw off rival bids from Boeing, France’s Dassault, Swedish Saab and the Eurofighter consortium of the UK, Germany, Italy and Spain.
After a six-year tendering process, during which the planes were tested for their ability to operate in Arctic conditions, the Finnish defence forces will replace its existing fleet of F/A-18 Hornets by 2030, with the total costs of the procurement and infrastructure improvements reaching around EUR10 billion.
Finland’s parliament last year allocated a maximum of EUR10 billion to the procurement, making it Finland’s largest ever arms deal.
The government has also budgeted for a further EUR10 billion to the maintenance and upgrade costs of the fighters, which are expected to remain in service until the 2060s.
But some commentators have accused Finland of over-optimism towards the life cycle costs of the F-35A, pointing out that the government has budgeted less than half the cost per fighter allocated by Switzerland, which this June decided to replace its own fleet with F-35s. — AFP