Industrial action: Finnish defence-industrial capabilities
by Charles Forrester
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The requirement for the Finnish Air Force to replace its Boeing F/A-18C/D Hornet multirole combat aircraft by 2030 has brought with it the need to ensure that Finland has the requisite industrial resilience to operate the aircraft, along with its sensors and weapon systems, with a high degree of independence.
As a result the aircraft under evaluation – the Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter, the Dassault Rafale, the Eurofighter Typhoon, the Saab Gripen E/F, and the Boeing F/A-18E/F Block III Super Hornet – are being tested for their ability to ensure that Finnish requirements for security of supply can be met. The country has set a requirement for a 30% return of the total contract value as part of this, meaning that an estimated EUR2–3