Finland to start producing fuselage parts for F-35 fighter jets

On June 19, the Finnish defense firm Patria signed an agreement with the American corporation Lockheed Martin to participate in the production of fuselages for F-35 fighter jets in Finland.

The agreement, in particular, provides for the purchase by Helsinki of 64 American aircraft and the assembly of the forward fuselage. In total, the Finns plan to assemble four hundred F-35 fuselage parts. According to the portal Yle, the production will be carried out at the facilities of Patria's Jamsa Hall plant.



By 2025, Finland should be ready to assemble the frontal frames of the fighter. The first such products are planned to be transported to the United States in 2026.

Finnish and American partners are involved in the global fighter assembly chain, and production and supply will be increased in the future. The program is designed until 2041, which will save jobs for many years to come. Petri Hepola, head of the F-35 project of Patria, spoke about this in an interview with the Yle resource.

Along with this, the subjects of cooperation are negotiating the participation of the Finnish side in the production of aircraft engines. If Patria and Lockheed Martin come to an agreement, work will also be carried out at the Jamca Hall plant, with process-related tasks being handled in Linnavuori.