Prices for unmanned technology and artificial intelligence drop quickly, and soon it will be a realistic option for smaller countries. That was the topic of the Finnish Naval Defense Day 2018, which Corporal Frisk covered nicely.
Finland
Estonia leaves UNIFIL because Finland does
Finland has decided to leave the UN Mission in Lebanon, so the integrated Estonian platoon has to leave as well. This raises some interesting questions about benefits and dangers to cooperation among Europe’s armed forces.
K9 Thunder howitzers delivered to Finland
Finland has received the first K9 Thunder self-propelled howitzers from South Korea. That announced Finnish defense minister Jussi Niinistö on Friday. Finland has ordered a total of 48 K9 Thunder howitzers, and judging by the images from the Vuosaari docks at least four of them have arrived. The K9 Thunder is a 155 mm self-propelled […]
Finland chooses Harpoon and ESSM for new corvettes
Last updated: 31 August 2018
The U.S. State Department has approved two missile sales to Finland. This includes Evolved Sea Sparrow missiles for the new multipurpose corvettes and [Harpoon missiles] for the Hamina class, the new corvettes, and for coastal batteries. Evolved Sea Sparrow is a medium range air defense missile developed by Raytheon. It is a well established brand […]
Sweden and Finland buy new torpedoes together
Sweden and Finland have announced a joint procurement of torpedoes of the type New Lightweight Torpedo (NLT). This torpedo is produced by Saab Dynamics and is also known by the Swedish name of Torpedsystem 47 or Tp 47. The hope is that the coordinated purchase will lower the costs of sustaining and further developing the […]
Finland will buy large corvettes
Finnish chief of defense general Jarmo Lindberg to Defense News: [In] the defense report that was finalized in June last year, the government stated that they are willing to fund strategic procurement programs first to the Navy, where six ships are going away, and they’re going to be replaced by four multipurpose corvettes of about […]
Finns like NATO less and Russia more compared to last year
Every year the Finnish Advisory Board of Defence Information conducts a survey of the public opinion on defense related issues. Pauli Järvenpää from ICDS has found a few interesting results: [M]ore and more Finns seem to believe in common defense through the country’s EU membership. This year, as many as 70 per cent of those […]
Historic procurement of Nordic Combat Uniforms reaches prequalification
The Nordic Combat Uniform (NCU) project is moving ahead with an official invitation to possible candidates for prequalification. The goal is that Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden will buy new combat uniforms together, albeit with national variations in colors and camouflage patterns. By making the procurement together the Nordic countries hope to attract big players […]
Finland will buy 64 new fighter jets
Finland’s Ministry of Defense has announced that they expect to buy 64 new fighter jets. That means that the country’s F/A-18 Hornets will be replaced on a one to one basis. Manager of the acquisition program Lauri Puranen says to yle.fi that since the new jets are not faster than the old ones, and they […]
Still waiting for easy access to each other’s territories
While on the topic of NORDEFCO memorandums of understanding, has anyone seen any implementations of last year’s agreement to create easy access to each other’s territories for military capabilities?