Either cry or dance: why did Finland buy F-35 fighters

They cannot understand, congratulate themselves and the government on the choice made in favor of the F-35 multirole American fighters, after all, the fifth generation, or get drunk to amazement, mourning at least $ 11.3 billion.

Alexander Sychev

The Finns have been eyeing the new fighters and testing their samples for several years. In early 2021, they finally sent out official requests to five companies: the American Boeing, which produces the F / A-18 Super Hornet, the French Dassault with its Rafale, the British Eurofighter - Typhoon, the neighbors of the Swedes - Saab Gripen E and another American company Lockheed Martin. with her F-35. And now the choice is made.

Just days after the news hit the press, Finnish Defense Minister Antti Kaikkonen announced the selection at an event that was broadcast on YouTube - 64 F-35A Block 4s will replace the 62 F / A-18C / D Hornets in service with the country's Air Force. , the service life of which is coming to an end. The start of deliveries of new aircraft is scheduled for 2026.

The package includes training, maintenance and other services, as well as a choice of weapons: AIM-120 Advanced Medium Range Missile (AMRAAM), AIM-9X Sidewinder, SDB I and II bombs (the latter is also known as Stormbreaker), AGM cruise missiles 158B or JASSM-ER and more.

According to the minister, the F-35 was recognized as the best in terms of combat and reconnaissance capabilities, the most powerful in comparison with competitors, with the highest development potential until 2070.

Most of all, the Finns were surprised by the words that the country's leadership considered the American F-35 the most economical, and that the costs associated with its operation and modernization fit into the planned budget.

“The F-35 was the cheapest in terms of purchase price... The cost of operating and maintaining the system,” the Finnish Air Force said in a statement, “is below the annual cost limit of 254 million euros. The operation and development of the F-35 life cycle is possible at the expense of the resources of the Defense Forces. None of the proposals were significantly cheaper in terms of operating and maintenance costs. ”

Finland has allocated about $ 11.3 billion for the project. So far, the Finnish parliament has approved $ 10.6 billion in euro terms and a five-year transfer allocation of $ 653 million.

The allocated funds are distributed as follows: acquisition cost - $ 9.4 billion. Of this amount, fighters account for 5.3 billion, that is, the Finns will receive one plane for 82 million dollars. Judging by these calculations, Lockheed Martin lost heavily to the Finns. For the US Air Force, the plane costs $ 135.8 million. The minister is right - indeed, profitable.

But the Americans, even if they are inferior in something, always return the losses on subsequent deliveries and work, which the buyer cannot refuse - somehow it is necessary to keep the "toy".

The AMRAAM and Sidewinder missiles will cost $ 852 million. An additional $ 3.3 billion will be required for maintenance, parts, training equipment and other systems, and services from 2025 to 2030.

But in addition to this, the cost of infrastructure, including runways, hangars, control systems - another $ 878 million should be taken into account, and subsequent contracts for the development of fighters will require at least $ 930 million.

This is the money that is visible today. In general, the financial costs estimated by Helsinki may well turn out to be underestimated even in the indicated five years. After all, we are talking about the most expensive aircraft, and, as it was said in one of the Pentagon reports, not brought to perfection. The fighter caught fire several times, including in the air. And last spring, during a practice shooting in Arizona, a rocket launched, barely leaving the pylon, immediately exploded, damaging the plane.

The fighter is unobtrusive to radar, but the coating that makes it nearly invisible wears out quickly and needs to be updated frequently.

The aircraft entered service in 2015. There are three modifications of the fighter: a fighter for the United States Air Force, a short take-off and vertical landing fighter for the United States Marine Corps and the British Navy, and a carrier-based fighter.

The total cost of the program for its creation since 1992 is estimated plus or minus at a trillion dollars. The Pentagon even conducted an investigation, trying to figure out where that money went. But the matter came to naught. Perhaps precisely because the plane is far from perfect, and a trillion has been spent. Give it a go, and many heads would fly.

In addition, even without taking into account the overheads associated with maintaining the aircraft in working order, the F-35 flight hour costs the US budget $ 36,000. Very expensive. The Pentagon is even considering creating something cheaper, more suitable for real warfare when casualties occur.

The Finnish government is, of course, aware of the shortcomings of the American car. Despite this, they chose the F-35, although Finland will have to change a lot. For example, today's Finnish warplanes use roads as runways. The F-35 will require more serious ground support. The Finns would be more suitable for the Swedish Gripen E, which is adapted to the roads.

Stockholm, I think, would be grateful to Helsinki if the Finns chose their aircraft, which was offered in tandem with the Global Eye reconnaissance aircraft. The fact is that the Swedes were left alone with the F-35 in the Canadian fighter tender. They could use a big Finnish contract to convince Canadians of their competitiveness.

Why did the Finns choose the F-35? It is clear that for many reasons the Americans need to organize the sale of an expensive and imperfect toy. Money should work. Therefore, they made significant initial concessions - they sold the aircraft for almost half the price.

But the most delicious treat was Lockheed Martin and the US government's agreement to extensive technical cooperation.

So Finland is planned to be connected to the "global maintenance system for the F-35". In fact, we can talk about the organization of a Finnish regional center, which will be able to serve Danish and Norwegian fighters.

"Apparently"б - writes The Defense News magazine, - "Finland's capabilities to maintain the F-35 will be among the most significant outside of the United States, with the exception of Israel".

In Finland, it is also planned to establish the production of a number of structural elements of the aircraft. Some spare parts and replacement equipment will be assembled under the national control of Finland.

The final assembly of engines for Finnish aircraft is also expected to be organized in Finland. This clause is contained in an industrial cooperation agreement that will be signed by the Finnish Defense Ministry and Lockheed Martin and Pratt & Whitney, the engine manufacturer.

“The F-35 will provide the Finnish industry with unique digital capabilities that enable the technology and production of fifth-generation fighters”, - said Bridget Lauderdale, Lockheed Martin's vice president and general manager of the F-35 program.

Apparently, the opportunity to make money on other operators of the most expensive aircraft in Western Europe, and the prospect of gaining access to high technology - that's what bribed the Finnish authorities and made them take a chance.