Puolustusministeri Häkkäsen puhe F-35-vastaanottotilaisuudessa

Puolustusministeri Häkkäsen puhe F-35-vastaanottotilaisuudessa

Puolustusministeri Antti Häkkänen puhui F-35-hävittäjien vastaanottotilaisuudessa Rovaniemellä 1.10.2026.

Mr President, Excellencies, distinguished officials from both the United States and Finland, ladies and gentlemen,

Very good morning to you all.

As the Minister of Defence of the Republic of Finland, it is my utmost pleasure to address you all on this historic day.

We Finns have a strong will to defend this beautiful country, a large military reserve, and significant military capabilities.

Over thirty years ago F-18 fighter jet procurement served as an example of Finland's unity and determination. The F-18s were acquired even though the country was simultaneously challenged with a severe recession.

And now, we decided this massive procurement of F-35 fighters, which is valued over 10 billion euros. All this despite a challenging economic climate.

This decision is just one evidence of many, that we Finns take our defence very seriously.

I am also convinced that this strong defence capability is a key reason why we Finns remain calm. We face of the current security situation steadfast and we maintain our status as the world's happiest nations.

The delivery of very capable F-35 fighters and their integration to Finland's Defence system strengthens both Finland's and the Alliance's deterrence and defence. This capability will have a key role in Europe's, Nordic Nations and especially in Finland's security.

The European countries will soon have over 700 fifth generation fighters. This is a significant airpower and a powerful force multiplier for Joint operations. This also underlines that Europe is doing more, and especially the Nordic nations are deepening their cooperation in air domain.

All Nordic countries are under Nato's Joint Force Command Norfolk. This operational arrangement together with the strong airpower creates excellent framework to deepen the Defence and Security cooperation within the Alliance. Especially bilaterally between United States and Finland.

The Ministry of Defence in Finland oversees both defence and material policies as well as international defence materiel cooperation.

MOD is responsible for strategic programs. MOD has also been guiding for the buildup of defence industry capabilities in Finland.

The program has already had a strong positive impact to Finland's industry, business and economics. Over 30 Finnish companies are either directly or indirectly involved in the programme. The programme is estimated to generate approximately 5000 person-years of employment to Finland.

As an example of the bilateral cooperation, a Finnish defence company Patria is manufacturing F-35 fighter jet forward fuselages. This is a long-term production line that will also supply parts for other aircraft users.

The Pratt & Whitney engines for the F-35 fighters are also assembled and maintained in Finland. This is very important for security of supply. It also creates new business opportunities and improves economics on both sides of the Atlantic.

It is important that Finnish industry is playing a significant role in so called fifth generation technology. This is also creating new opportunities.

A nation that understands the importance of security and defence is an attractive nation for international investors.

Fine example of the fruitful business relations between US and Finland is Google's 13 billion investment to Finland announced couple of weeks ago. This is also quite a statement about Finland as a safe and reliable investment environment.

In the latest Top Gun movie from year 2022 Maverick, a character by Tom Cruise, says the famous words "It's not what the plane can do, it's what the pilot can do".

My assessment is that it is not only this ultimate fighting machine. We also need the committed and qualified people operating the machine which is one part of the air defence as a system. This system benefits from the deep cooperation between United States and Finland, and multiple other nations.

I want to express my gratitude to the US and Finnish officials, Lockheed Martin, Pratt & Whitney, the Finnish F-35 program and Finland's defence industry.

Together we are strong. Now we are all even stronger.

I wish you all a great arrival ceremony.