Finland picks Lockheed Martin F-35A in $11B defense deal

By JARI TANNER
Associated Press

HELSINKI (AP) — Finland has agreed to buy 64 Lockheed Martin fighter jets to replace its aging fleet of combat planes in an $11.3 billion deal that represents the Finnish military’s largest ever purchase. Finland picked the American company’s F-35A fighters from among five contenders, which also included the Boeing F-18 Super Hornet, France’s Dassault Rafale, Britain’s Eurofighter Typhoon and Sweden’s Saab Gripen. The Finnish air force has a fleet of more than 60 F-18 Hornets acquired in the 1990s. It started looking for a successor in 2014. The Defense Ministry said Friday that the price tag for the deal with Lockheed Martin includes training and other equipment.