The Finnish air force is looking for a replacement of its aging fleet of 55 F-18Hornet fighter-bomber aircraft. Given the fact that Sweden and Finland recently decided to militarly cooperate more closely on sea and in the air the speculation about the Swedish JAS Gripen aircraft as a replacement for the Finnish Hornet has commenced.
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| JAS Gripen E/F variant |
At the moment Finland is starting to look around for a possible replacement of the Hornet aircrafts. At the moment the government is starting a feasibility study while the actual procurement of a successor would be expected at the beginning of the 2020s.
During the eastern period, the Swedish newspaper “Dagens Industri” reported that the JAS Gripen aircraft would be a good candidate to replace the F-18 Hornet aircraft of the Finnish air force. The newspaper also stated that the Finnish Defence minister Carl Haglund, already turned down the proposition, stating that the JAS Gripen will not receive a special treatment in the procurement campaign.
"Swedish fighter jets don’t have special status when Finland ponders the Hornet’s successor" - Finnish Defence minister Carl Haglund
It is strange to see an open move so early in a procurement campaign and this would indicate that Sweden is very keen on trying to sell the JAS Gripen to other nations. Although the JAS Gripen is a decent aircraft, it faces the competition of other equally good aircraft like the Eurofighter Typhoon or the French Dassault Rafale.
Sweden also draws the card of the new close military cooperation between the two nations. Should Finland chose for the JAS Gripen it would make the military cooperation between Finland and Sweden stronger. A common aircraft would facilitate joint logistics and maintenance between the two nations. At the same time it would make it easier to calculate the air capabilities as fewer different airframes have to be accounted for.
Finland acquiring the JAS Gripen would also give a big boost to the Swedish defence industry. This would allow Sweden to play a more prominent role as an arms supplier for the nations in the Baltic Region.
It is unclear if Finland will go for the JAS Gripen aircraft as the final decision will be made around 2020. A lot will depend on what type of aircraft Finland seeks to acquire. At the moment Finland operates 55 F-18 Hornets and the primary role for this aircraft is to provide close air support to ground troops. The JAS Gripen is more designed as an interceptor and would be less suitable in the role for close air support.
