Press releases and news

The Finnish Government has appointed Anu Nousiainen, M.Sc. (Admin.), as Director General of the Administration Policy Department at the Ministry of Defence for a five-year term from 1 October 2026 to 31 September 2031.

Finland, Norway and Latvia signed a statement of intent at the NATO Summit Defence Industry Forum on 7 July 2026 to share information on the further development of Patria TRACKX tracked vehicle and the results of field trials. The three countries will be able to engage in joint procurement and work together in the product development of the vehicle. Minister of Defence Antti Häkkänen signed the statement of intent on behalf of Finland.

The NATO Summit Defence Industry Forum, held in Ankara on 7 July 2026, witnessed several announcements of defence industry initiatives that will strengthen NATO’s deterrence and defence, and therefore also Finland’s security.

Finland, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Poland issued a Joint statement on developing the New Multilateral Defence Mechanism on 6 July 2026.

Finland’s Minister of Defence Antti Häkkänen will attend the NATO Summit, held in Ankara, Türkiye, on 7–8 July 2026.

Finland will procure short-range ground-based air defence systems from Sweden.

On Thursday 25 June, the Finnish Defence Forces, the Finnish technology company Insta and Lockheed Martin signed an agreement to create a maintenance and service centre in Finland. The centre will be located at Insta’s offices in Tampere.

The Ministerial Committee on Economic Policy outlined on Finland’s additional funding package of EUR 40 million to the Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) initiative of NATO and the United States. The package is part of the commitment the Finnish Government agreed in its spring budget session to increase Finland’s military support to Ukraine by EUR 300 million in 2026–2027.

The United States’ Secretary of the Army Daniel P. Driscoll will pay a working visit to Finland on 18–19 June 2026. Finland’s Ministry of Defence is hosting the visit.

The Ministry of Defence is requesting views on a bill for amendments to the Act on Military Intelligence. The bill proposes that the Act on Military Intelligence allow the use of certain intelligence collection methods in premises used for permanent residence.

Finland’s Minister of Defence Antti Häkkänen authorised the Finnish Defence Forces Logistics Command to procure GBU-53 Small Diameter Bomb II (SDB II) glide bombs from the United States. Glide bombs are used in F-35 multi-role combat aircraft.

Minister of Defence Häkkänen is attending meetings of the NATO defence ministers, NATO’s Nuclear Planning Group and the Ukraine Defence Contact Group at NATO Headquarters on 18 June.

A working group led by the Ministry of the Environment and Ministry of Defence examined the coordination of habitat restoration and national defence and identified means to promote their shared objectives. The working group concluded that there are major synergies between restoration and national defence. In particular, the restoration of mires has significance for national defence in eastern and northern Finland.

The Ministry of Defence has published a report on Finland’s exports of defence materiel in 2025. The report provides statistical data on both the granted export licences and actual exports.

Finland and Ukraine have signed a Memorandum of Understanding concerning quality assurance in the defence materiel sector.

Australia's Minister of Defence Richard Marles visited Helsinki on 9 June to meet with Minister of Defence Antti Häkkänen.

Brazil's Minister of Defence José Mucio Monteiro Filho will meet with Finland’s Minister of Defence Antti Häkkänen in Helsinki on 8 June.

NATO’s Forward Land Forces Finland (FLF Finland) will be officially founded on Saturday 6 June 2026.

In line with the Government Programme, the Finnish Government will reform the Act on the Screening of Foreign Corporate Acquisitions so that risks relating to national security, security of supply and broad-spectrum threats are taken into account more effectively than at present. The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment has sent out for comments a government proposal to reform the legislation on foreign corporate acquisitions to meet the demands of today’s geopolitical environment and technological advances.

On 4 June 2026, the Finnish Government, based on Minister of Defence Antti Häkkänen’s presentation, submitted to Parliament a government proposal for reforming the legislation on military intelligence.