The Finnish Government’s commitment to boost the planned purchase of fighter jets to replace its aging fleet of F / A-18C / D Hornet is being realized in committed funds. The budget proposal of its Ministry of Defense for 2021 is 54% higher than current spending, “largely due to the financing proposed for the acquisition of multipurpose combat aircraft (HX project)”, according to the information provided by the same ministry. In total, if approved in these terms, the military items available for next year will reach 4,870 million euros, 1,700 million euros more than this year.
With this injection, the country’s defense expenditures will go from equivalent to 1.4% of its gross domestic product (GDP), which is currently around 2%, depending in both cases on the evolution of the economy.
The Defense Ministry proposes a total outlay of 10 billion euros in the purchase of new aircraft, including technical training systems, maintenance equipment, test equipment and spare parts, weapons, sensors and other related supports. The proposed increase for 2021 therefore represents an impetus to start the billion-dollar program.