Official press releases, news and speeches that the minister has held are located in this section. The Ministry of Defence publishes all of its press releases and news in Finnish and Swedish and many of them in English, too.
Press Releases
Finnish Defence Forces to procure air-to-ground weapons for F-35 fighters
Finland’s Minister of Defence Antti Häkkänen has authorised the Defence Forces to sign a contract with the United States on the procurement of JDAM and SDB I systems for F-35 multi-role fighters. The Ministerial Finance Committee favoured the procurement in its session on 22 February 2024.
The object of the procurement is Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) and Small Diameter Bomb I (SDB I) systems with related equipment and services from 2024 to 2030. The procurement uses a Total Package Approach (TPA). It means that, in addition to JDAM and SDB I systems, the procurement includes Bomb Rack Unit 61 (BRU-61) carriage assemblies, training material, manuals, spare parts, accessories, transport services, and training and support services provided by the manufacturer and the supplier. The contract ensures access to spare parts and training and support services until 2030.
“The procurement will supplement our critical materiel for national security needs,” Minister of Defence Häkkänen says.
The procurement contract is in USD with an index-linked ceiling price at USD 96,011,515, which is EUR 79,112,982.04 at 2021 prices (VAT 0% on 29 January 2021; EUR 1 = USD 1.21360). The procurement payments are scheduled for 2024–2030.
The procurement will be a Foreign Military Sales (FMS) contract between the authorities of the United States and Finland. The Finnish Defence Forces Logistics Command will conclude the contract with the US administration.
Inquiries: Iikka Marttila, Senior Ministerial Adviser, Ministry of Defence, tel. +358 295 140 038, and Brigadier General Engineering Juha-Matti Ylitalo, Deputy Chief, Finnish Defence Forces Logistics Command, tel. +358 299 800 (Defence Forces’ switchboard).