F-35 wins Finnish HX competition.

22 comments
  1. Gripen is a good plane, but it’s good for Swedish conditions; not everywhere else so honestly I don’t see much usage from other countries (except the weapons it can carry..).

    Jävlar indeed tho.

  2. Importance of mission sets in evaluation:

    Air superiority 30%

    Air to ground/support of ground forces 20%

    Support of naval forces 10%

    Long-range fires/interdiction 20%

    ISR(Intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance) 20%

  3. No rankings of the 5 participants have been made public except that Eurofighter and Rafale got disqualified.

  4. It’s the newest, has most life left and is battle proven. So many countries use it there will be no questions about how long the fighter will be supported. Great choice.

  5. It was the same when Norway went with the F-35. Got to give SAAB credit for being persistent even though they really dont stand a chance when they are dealing with countries that can actually afford the F-35.

  6. Gripen is nice, but outdated and not really a 5th gen multi-role fighter like we were looking for. F-35 is the newest and can operate well into 2060’s.

  7. Chief of Finnish Air Force, Jokinen Pasi says in capability scoring F-35 achieved 4.47 (where 4.0 was requirement), next best got 3.81(super hornet or gripen).
    64 jets with tooling, spares, comprehensive weapons package.

  8. We bought CV90 (infantry fighting vehicle) and NLAW (anti tank missle) from Sweden though. ~~I don’t know if Swedes have ever bought anything from us.~~

    Edit. Now that I looked into it, Swedes have Finnish APCs and sniper rifles, plus they have purchased the design for some mortar pieces.

  9. All comments say it’s a great plane. Very English and american focussed.

    I wish we had more European military hardware. France, Sweden, Germany, the UK all can build good planes.

    As long as we buy american stuff (regardless of quality), we will be seen down by the USA.

  10. Granted that Finland recieves millitary support from the US if Russia were to launch an attack against them, to secure their investment. Even if they’re outside the joint NATO partnership.

    Personally I see this as a dub.

    Gripen works great on our turf with it’s defense capabilities. I’d honestly be more disheartened if Canada rejected it than Finland.

  11. Finland is in good companionship.
    Switzerland also opted for the purchase of the F35.
    More specifically for the Naval version of the F35, that will be operated from the newly build Swiss aircraft carrier which is stationed in the Geneva sea harbour.

  12. Makes sense. You’d have to replace the Gripen sooner. You want a platform that can be upgraded and kept in service for decades.

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