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Finland Selects F-35 Lightning II as its Next Fighter (Read 261 times)
 
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Finland Selects F-35 Lightning II as its Next Fighter
Dec 10th, 2021 at 3:02pm
 
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Finland Selects F-35 Lightning II as its Next Fighter

F-35 ranked as the most capable, survivable, and affordable solution in Finland's HX fighter program

FORT WORTH, Texas, Dec. 10, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — The Finnish Government has announced Lockheed Martin's 5th-generation F-35 Lightning II is the aircraft selected from its HX Fighter Program. By selecting the F-35, Finland gains a significant capability to ensure stability in the region.

“We are honoured the Government of Finland through its thorough, open competition has selected the F-35 and we look forward to partnering with the Finnish Defence Forces and Finnish defence industry to deliver and sustain the F-35 aircraft,” said Bridget Lauderdale, Lockheed Martin’s vice president and general manager of the F-35 Program. “The F-35 will provide Finnish industries unique digital capabilities that leverage 5th-generation engineering and manufacturing. The production work will continue for more than 20 years and the F-35 sustainment work will continue into the 2070s.”

The Finnish Air Force will receive
64
F-35A
multirole stealth fighters, a robust weapons package, a sustainment solution tailored to Finland’s unique security of supply requirements, as well as a comprehensive training program.

The F-35’s advanced capabilities transform the way air forces conduct operations. It is the most advanced, survivable, and connected fighter aircraft in the world, giving pilots an advantage against any adversary and enabling them to execute their mission and come home safe.

Its interoperability facilitates seamless information exchanges with surface and air platforms, strengthening interoperability between the different branches of the Finnish Defence Forces.

The F-35 selection will deliver economic and technical advantages to Finland for decades to come. Finnish industry will have many first-of-a-kind opportunities to work directly on F-35 production and sustainment. Through indirect industrial participation projects outside of F-35 production, Lockheed Martin will build industry partnerships with Finnish companies and academic institutions that offer opportunities focused on developing and advancing security partnerships far into the future.

To date, the F-35 operates from 21 bases worldwide, with nine nations operating F-35s on their home soil. There are more than 730 F-35s in service today, with more than 1,535 pilots and 11,500 maintainers trained on the aircraft.

For additional information, visit www.f35.com.

About Lockheed Martin

Headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, Lockheed Martin is a global security and aerospace company that employs approximately 114,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration, and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products, and services.

SOURCE: Lockheed Martin Aeronautics
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Finland Formalizes Deal for 64 Block 4 F-35's
Reply #1 - Feb 15th, 2022 at 2:52pm
 
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Finland Formalizes Deal for 64 Block 4 F-35's


Feb. 11, 2022

By John A. Tirpak
Air Force Magazine

Finland finalized its $9.4 billion purchase of 64 Lockheed Martin F-35s and support services, signing a letter of offer and acceptance, announced on February 11, that calls for the jets to be delivered before the end of 2030. The agreement provides Finland with industrial participation on the program.

The F-35A conventional-takeoff jets will be of the Block 4 configuration and replace Finland’s F/A-18C/D fighters, which will be phased out as the new aircraft arrive, starting in 2025. In addition to providing Finland with a fifth-generation fighter, the deal will provide Finnish companies “high-technology engineering and manufacturing economic benefits,” Lockheed Martin F-35 vice president and program manager Bridget Lauderdale said in a press statement.

“The production work will continue for more than 20 years and the F-35 sustainment work will continue into the 2060s,” Lauderdale said. Finland will produce significant portions of the F-35’s forward fuselage for itself and other customers. It will also produce structural components and “equipment testing and maintenance capability,” the Finnish defense ministry said in a December 10 release. Finnish industry may also be involved in final assembly of the fighter’s F135 engine.

Industrial participation was a contingency of the sale. Finland told fighter competitors in 2018 that the acquisition had to include industrial offsets valued at 30 percent or more of the eventual contract.

The Finnish defense ministry, in the December 10 release, said the industrial agreement “is to develop and maintain the production, technology, and expertise in the defense and security industry that is critical with respect to national defense, state security, and functions vital to society, as well as to improve and safeguard the national security of supply.” The ministry said offsets will directly create 4,500 person-years of jobs in Finland and 1,500 person-years of indirect labour.

The acquisition will be managed through the U.S. Foreign Military Sales program. It includes engines, maintenance equipment, spare parts, training equipment, and service.

A separate letter of acceptance will be signed later this year for the provision of Sidewinder and AMRAAM air-to-air missiles to equip the fighters and Finland said it will sign agreements for air-to-ground munitions later. Finland already has a number of American munitions types that can be carried by the F-35, including the stealth AGM-158 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile.

The F-35 was selected over the Saab JAS-39 Gripen, Dassault Rafale, and Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet version of the fighter Finland has been operating since the 1990s.

Finnish defense minister Antti Kaikkonen said in a comparison of “military performance” of the finalists, the F-35 “best met our needs”.

In addition to seven development partners who are buying and operating the F-35, the sale to Finland marks the eighth FMS customer for the jet, making 15 operators worldwide. Turkey, which was an original development partner and had actually accepted four F-35s, was expelled from the program over that country’s decision to buy the Russian S400 air defense system, which would have compromised the stealth fighter’s secrets.

Finland is an unaligned nation, but the eduskunta, its parliament, has over the past few years discussed joining NATO. Switzerland is also neutral, but ordered 36 of the jets last fall. It has not yet formalized the sale with a letter of acceptance. Finland’s neighbour Norway, which is part of NATO, already operates the F-35.
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