Finland invites bids to supply 64 fighter jets

 

HELSINKI, April 27 (Reuters) - Finland invited bids on
Friday to supply 64 multi-role fighter aircraft to replace its
ageing fleet of F/A-18 Hornet jets, due to be phased out from
2025.

The deal is expected to cost 7-10 billion euros ($9-12
billion). Possible candidates include Saab (LSE: 0GWL.L - news) 's Gripen,
Dassault's Rafale, Boeing (NYSE: BA - news) 's Super Hornet,
Lockheed Martin (Swiss: LMT.SW - news) 's F-35 and the Eurofighter, a joint
project by Airbus, BAE and Leonardo.

"If we want to keep defending the entire Finnish territory
in a credible way, this is a necessity, especially as we do not
belong to a military alliance," defence minister Jussi Niinisto
told a news conference.

He said performance of the jets would be the main criterion
and Finland was committed to thorough talks with all plane
makers.

U.S. President Donald Trump suggested last year that Finland
had already chosen Hornets, made by U.S. group Boeing, but
Finland denied that.

Helsinki is asking manufacturers to provide price quotations
for the new jets by early 2019, and plans to make the final
decision in 2021.

Finland shares a 1,340km (833 miles) border and a difficult
history with Russia. It has compulsory military service for all
men and is one of six members of the European Union that have
not also joined NATO.
($1 = 0.8275 euros)
(Reporting by Jussi Rosendahl; Editing by Mark Potter)