Helsinki, Dec 10 (AFP\/APP):Finland will order 64 F-35A multi-role fighter jets from US contractor Lockheed Martin to replace its ageing fleet in a massive deal worth 8.4 billion euros ($9.5 billion), the government said Friday.<\/p>\n
Lockheed Martin defeated rival bids from Boeing, France’s Dassault, Saab of Sweden and the Eurofighter consortium of the UK, Germany, Italy and Spain — months after Switzerland picked the US planes.
\nIt is Finland’s biggest ever arms deal.<\/p>\n
“The F35 fulfilled the demands for preparedness, industrial cooperation and cost,” Defence Minister Antti Kaikkonen told a press conference.
\n“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”.<\/p>\n
Lockheed Martin rivals expressed disappointment.
\n“Once again we notice and regret an American preference prevailing in Europe,” Dassault Aviation said in a statement.<\/p>\n
Sweden’s defence minister Peter Hultqvist also voiced “regret” at the decision.<\/p>\n
The will include AMIRAAM and Sidewinder air-to-air missiles, as well as spare parts, training solutions and maintenance until the end of 2030, the government said in a statement.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
The total costs of the procurement and infrastructure improvements will reach around 10 billion euros.<\/p>\n
The first F-35s will be delivered to Finland in 2026 with the fleet of Hornets to be fully replaced by 2030,the government said.<\/p>\n
– Regional tensions –<\/p>\n
Finland’s choice of the F-35 comes against a background of tensions between Russia and NATO, the US and Europe.<\/p>\n
Moscow denies Western accusations that it is amassing troops on the Ukrainian border in preparation for a potential military operation.
\nFollowing Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, Finland repeatedly scrambled its Hornet fighters in response to a spike in incursions into its airspace by Russian jets.<\/p>\n
The Nordic nation, which shares the EU’s longest land border with Russia, is not a member of NATO but has increased its cooperation with the military alliance in recent years.<\/p>\n
The F-35 fighters are expected to remain in service until the 2060s.
\nThe government has budgeted a further 10 billion euros to the maintenance and upgrade costs of the jets.<\/p>\n
But some commentators have accused Finland of over-optimism about the life cycle costs of the F-35A.<\/p>\n
Critics point out that the government’s annual maintenance budget of 254 million euros was less than half what Switzerland will spend per plane for its own recent order of F-35s.<\/p>\n
However, the government said on Friday that the upkeep of the fleet was “feasible” and that the annual costs “will fall below” 254 million a year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Helsinki, Dec 10 (AFP\/APP):Finland will order 64 F-35A multi-role fighter jets from US contractor Lockheed Martin to replace its ageing fleet in a massive deal worth 8.4 billion euros ($9.5 billion), the government said Friday. Lockheed Martin defeated rival bids from Boeing, France’s Dassault, Saab […]<\/p>\n
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