Following evaluations of the candidates for the HX competition, the Finnish Defense Forces proposed to the Ministry of Defense the adoption of the Lockheed Martin F-35 as Finland’s next fighter.
The the originally package proposed for Finland, approved by the U.S. State Department in October 2020, would include up to 64 F-35As, plus a diverse armament package, spare parts and logistics, training, support systems, etc.
According to Iltalehti, several foreign policy and security sources stated that the Armed Forces’ choice fell on the F-35, as the best option to replace its F/A-18 Hornet. The contract could be worth up to 10 billion euros.
The Defense Forces base their preference on, among other things, the performance demonstrated during the testing phase of the different models during the HX Challenge (where the bidding aircraft visited Finland for a week to test them in realistic tactical conditions) and the long operational life that the F-35 will have. The user countries of this fifth-generation fighter are committed to the development of the machine until the 2060s.
The Ministry of Defense will then prepare a proposal to the Government for the acquisition of this fighter jet. According to Iltalehti, the Ministry and the foreign policy and security directorate support the experts’ proposal recommending Lockheed Martin’s offer.
Operational cost, a key variable
The framework set by the tender stipulates that the operational costs of the F/A-18 successor should not exceed 10% of the Defense Forces’ peacetime budget. In this case, they should not exceed 250 million euros per year.
Switzerland recently ordered the U.S. fighter as the best cost-benefit offer. In November, Martin Sonderegger, Director of Materials at the Swiss Ministry of Defense, visited Helsinki and met with Raimo Jyväsjärvi, Head of the Department of Resource Policy at the Ministry of Defense. The life cycle cost of the F-35 was on the agenda. The detailed information Jyväsjärvi will have received, plus that offered by the manufacturer and the data the Armed Forces themselves obtained during the HX Challenge, must have tipped the balance in favor of the Lightning II.
Government has the final say
The Defense Administration’s nomination of the F-35 means that the HX bidding, which began in 2015, is complete.
The government may opt to select a proposal that is not the winner of the HX competition, but sources consulted by Iltalehti consider this unlikely. There are also those within the government who would prefer a European fighter jet to a U.S. one, as is the case in Switzerland, so Lockheed Martin can’t celebrate yet, but they can chill the champagne.
