Industry bids are in for Finland’s $13 billion fighter race

[Dante80]

Industry bids are in for Finland’s $13 billion fighter race
Gerard O'Dwyer - 1 Feb 2019 - DefenseNews​

Visitors stand near the cockpit of a Saab JAS 39 Gripen fighter jet at the third Defence, Security and Crisis Management Exhibition and Conference (ADAS 2018) in Manila on Sept. 26, 2018. The aircraft is one of five bids in the running for Finland's fighter-replacement program. (Photo by Noel Celis/AFP/GettyImages)​

HELSINKI – Finland’s HX-FP multirole fighter replacement program has advanced to the next stage as five aircraft manufacturers have tendered their proposals to the Finnish Defence Forces’ (FDF) Logistics Command office. The proposals include preliminary quotations on cost.

The air force plans to retire its fleet of F/A-18 C/D Hornet jets between 2025 and 2029. The HX-FP carries an estimated price tag of €11.4 billion, a cost that includes life cycle service and maintenance overheads on a fleet of 64 multirole aircraft.

The government received proposals from four countries, including the United States, Sweden, France and Britain.

The aircraft types covered in the proposals are Boeing’s F/A-18 Super Hornet, Lockheed Martin’s F-35, France’s Dassault Rafale, the British-made Eurofighter and the Swedish Saab Gripen. The Saab proposal includes both the single-seat Gripen E and the dual-seat Gripen F versions.

Request for Quotation (RFQ) documents were dispatched by the Logistics Command to the governments of France, the United States, Britain and Sweden in April 2018. The petitions were then forwarded to the five participating manufacturers. The deadline for acceptance of responses was Jan. 31, 2019.

The proposals received by the Logistics Command include information pertaining to technical systems requirements for operating a fleet of 64 aircraft, as well as support documentation dealing with training systems, essential maintenance tools, testing equipment, spare parts, weapons systems and sensors.

The next stage in the HX-FP program will be an analysis of the various proposals. This is expected to be completed during the first half of 2019. At that point, the procurement program will enter the first phase of a negotiations process during which a more forensic examination of the quotations tendered will be conducted in consultation with the five bidding manufacturers.

The Logistics Command will forward a more detailed RFQ to manufacturers during the second half of 2019. This will precede the second phase of negotiations. Participating manufacturers will be required to submit final tender documents to the government during the second stage process which is slated to end in 2020. The Finnish government plans to bring its final decision to the national parliament for approval in 2021.

The proposal presented by Saab sets out the basis for a broad, long-term industrial cooperation between Finland and Sweden framed around any deal. The proposal covers the production of military aircraft in Finland. It also includes the transfer of maintenance, repair and overhaul capabilities to local industry in Finland. Moreover, Saab is proposing to establish a Gripen sustainment and development center in Finland.

 

[Dante80]

This is definitely one to look out for. FiAF is very well known for its excruciating attention to detail, and even the unredacted version of their analysis on the tenders will give a lot of insight on true system support cost for the competitors.

 

[Tshering22]

This is definitely one to look out for. FiAF is very well known for its excruciating attention to detail, and even the unredacted version of their analysis on the tenders will give a lot of insight on true system support cost for the competitors.

Maybe that is because most of their purchases are mainly for ceremonial or non-combat support usage only. Finland historically has been the "strong and silent" type who has advocated a neutral stance between USSR and USA. They would only need to 'show' that they have a military. Honestly, 4-5 squadrons of jets aren't going to make any dent on either Russia or USA in any meaningful manner.

So, this would be more like an asset replacement exercise than anything meaningful.

I bet that Finnish, despite being located in one of the most peaceful regions of Europe, will never delay as much as we Indians do.

 

[Dante80]

Agreed. After all, the term "Finlandization" came to be exactly because of the need for a country - that has a major policy actor neighboring it - to survive.

Having said that, the Finnish do historically take their sovereignty and military pretty seriously. Same goes for the public funds that go into it. I mean, I do get the argument as far as asset replacement is concerned, but for the specific country doing the replacing..it is still meaningful, isn't it? The last time someone decided to attack Finland (Winter and Continuation wars), they got a pretty bloody nose from it - 10 times the casualties, close to a million and a half at that for negligible gains.