Minister of Defence Antti Häkkänen: The F-35 programme will raise Finland’s air defence to next level while providing work for Finns

Finland’s Minister of Defence Antti Häkkänen will attend the official F-35 roll-out ceremony in Texas in the United States on 16 December 2025.

Minister of Defence Häkkänen will attend the roll-out ceremony for the first F-35A multi-role combat aircraft for the Finnish Air Force in Fort Worth on Tuesday 16 December. After the historic ceremony, the Minister will visit the F-35 assembly line at Lockheed Martin.

Minister Häkkänen will also open an event focusing on defence industry. The event will present the achievements and progress of the defence industrial participation of the Finnish Ministry of Defence, Lockheed Martin and Pratt & Whitney.

“This is an important milestone for a major project. As a NATO Ally, Finland is committed to being a reliable defence provider in the High North. We are investing heavily in our domestic industrial capabilities through industrial participation. We are convinced that these investments and a capable defence industry will benefit the F-35 programme not only locally but also globally,” Minister Häkkänen said.

Industrial participation is a concrete means of mobilising the economic benefits and employment impacts of major defence procurements in Finland. Earlier this autumn, the Minister of Defence visited Patria’s new production facilities in Jämsä and Nokia in Finland. F-35 jet engines will be assembled in Nokia and front fuselages in Jämsä.

“Finland is not just a paying customer, although securing funding for the F-35 programme has been a great effort from the Finnish Government. Through this industrial participation, Finland will be an active participant in the assembling and develoment of one of if not the most important single weapon system of the future of air defence in the west. It will have a major employment generating impact and offer us great opportunites for increasing our role in coming years,” Häkkänen said.

The F-35 fighter that will rolled out in Fort Worth in Texas is the first of a total of 64 multi-role combat aircraft to be delivered to Finland. The deliveries will start in 2026. The F-35 fleet will gradually replace the Hornet fleet of the Finnish Air Force.

Inquiries: Krista Siik, Branch Engineer, Ministry of Defence, tel. +358 295 140 015. Requests for interviews with Minister Häkkänen: Antti Vesala, Special Adviser, tel. +358 295 140 099.