Finland unveils new F-35 fighters at Rovaniemi ceremony

Finland’s Air Force is holding a formal ceremony to receive its F-35 fighter jets in Rovaniemi, with Yle covering the event live. The first aircraft arrived in the city last week.

President Alexander Stubb and Defence Minister Antti Häkkänen are due to speak at the ceremony and hold press conferences. Invited guests include Orlando Sanchez Junior, head of aviation for F-35 manufacturer Lockheed Martin, and Howard Brodie, the US ambassador to Finland.

Finland has ordered 64 F-35s from the United States. The aircraft are due to replace the country’s Hornet fighters around the turn of the 2030s. The purchase, including weapons, is Finland’s most expensive procurement to date, at about 10 billion euros.

The F-35’s stated strengths include its ability to detect threats, its stealth features and its capacity to disable or destroy targets. Stealth makes the aircraft harder to detect, allowing it to get closer to a target before an adversary notices it.

Finland is expected to be able to use the new fighters for basic tasks, such as identification flights, by the end of 2027. They are expected to be ready for all missions by 2031.

Justin Bronk, a researcher at the UK-based Royal United Services Institute who studies Finland’s Air Force, previously told Yle that Russia’s air-defence systems pose a real threat to Finland. He said their long-range weapons could strike targets deep inside Finland and even in Norway, and that the F-35 was designed to counter Russian ground forces’ air defences.