Finland is set to buy 64 F-35 fighters

The procurement is worth an estimated 8.378 billion euros ($9.44 billion), the government said

The Finnish government has chosen to buy the Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II stealth fighter jets to replace its F/A-18 Hornet fleet. 

The Finnish government chose the F-35 as the winner of the HX Program and plans to order 64 planes with weapons systems, the government said on Friday.

The procurement is worth an estimated 8.378 billion euros ($9.44 billion), the government said.

“When comparing military performance, the F-35 best met our needs,” Defence Minister Antti Kaikkonen told a news conference.

Military planemakers have been vying for the deal since late 2015, when the Finnish defence ministry began the search for a new jet to replace Finland’s old Hornet fighter bought in 1992 from McDonnell Douglas, now part of Boeing.

Finland is the 14th nation to opt for the F-35.