Minister of Defence Antti Häkkänen: The F-35 project is expected to create new opportunities for Finnish companies

Finland's procurement of F-35 combat aircraft involves a significant level of industrial participation. A key objective is to safeguard Finnish security of supply.

To achieve this, Finland will build maintenance and sustainment capabilities and ensure domestic access to material. New jobs will be created in Finland as a beneficial byproduct, and the participating companies will get new opportunities both within the project and outside it.

The Finnish partners in the direct industrial participation are Patria, Insta, Millog, Finnair and Combitech, while the indirect participation partners are Patria, Insta, Iceye, Huld, Bittium, Hiab, Ponsse, Epec, Reaktor, Sensorfleet, Cyberwatch Finland, Crosshill, DNV, Xiphera, Habilito, Harp Technologies and DA-Group.

Finnish research is represented by VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, Aalto University, the University of Tampere, the University of Jyväskylä and the Finnish Meteorological Institute.

Minister of Defence Antti Häkkänen sees the extent and diversity of the industrial participation as a tremendous achievement.

"We have succeeded in creating an exceptional package of industrial participation in Finland, the most prominent elements being Patria's F-35 forward fuselage production line in Jämsä and engine assembly facility in Nokia. But there is much more. For example, we are collaborating with Lockheed Martin to research and develop autonomous systems, artificial intelligence, sensors, space and cyber technologies, and advanced manufacturing technologies. In many fields, Finnish expertise is world-class, and in this project we get to show our true mettle," Minister Häkkänen said.

The direct employment impact of the industrial participation, both in terms of direct and indirect participation, is estimated at 4,500 person-years. In addition, associated construction projects are estimated to generate approximately 1,500 person-years of jobs. It is highly likely that the project will open even new opportunities for Finnish companies in coming years.

"A good example of a new opportunity is the Memorandum of Understanding that was signed between Insta and Lockheed Martin on collaboration extending beyong the F-35 project. It is a very encouraging signal as it indicates that the door is now open even for other forms of collaboration. There are ingredients for even more new opportunities for the Finnish industry," Häkkänen said.

On Tuesday 16 December 2025, the Minister of Defence attended the roll-out ceremony for Finland's first F-35 fighter in Fort Worth in Texas. While there, he also opened an event discussing the industrial participation achievements between Lockheed Martin and Finnish companies. The Ministry of Defence is respondible for industrial participation in Finland.

Inquiries:
Krista Siik, Branch Engineer, tel. +358 295 140 015
Antti Vesala, Special Adviser, tel. +358 504 710 883 (requests for interviews with the Minister)