Attendees included representatives from the Finnish Air Force, the Defence Forces Logistics Command, the Finnish Ministry of Defence, as well as US government and industry officials. This event symbolised a key step in Finland’s F-35 Programme, reflecting international collaboration in the fighter’s development.
Currently, the forward fuselages for Finland’s F-35A aircraft are being manufactured in the United States. Following assembly of the forward fuselage, the fighter’s four major sections – the forward fuselage, centre fuselage, wing assemblies, and aft section – will be joined together before moving to final assembly at the Fort Worth production line.
In addition to international production, Finland’s domestic defence industry will contribute to the F-35 Programme, with Finnish company Patria scheduled to begin manufacturing forward fuselages and subcomponents in Jämsä in the coming years. This industrial participation is part of the multinational F-35 Programme, allowing partner nations to contribute to various stages of F-35 production.
Colonel (ret.) Henrik Elo, Director of Finland’s F-35 Programme, noted the significance of the signing ceremony, describing it as a “symbolically important milestone” in the aircraft fleet’s production process. The first Finnish F-35A fighter, JF-501, is expected to complete production within the year and will be delivered in late autumn 2025, before moving to initial training deployment at Ebbing, United States.
Finland’s fleet of F-35A fighters is set to feature the TR-3 configuration, the latest system update, and will be manufactured within Lines of Technology 17–22. The Finnish Air Force plans to deploy its first F-35A fighters to Rovaniemi, Lapland Air Wing, in late 2026.
