Finland asks for the Eurofighter Best and Final Offer

On 29 January 2021, the Finnish Defence Forces formally asked the Eurofighter consortium to submit its Best and Final Offer (BAFO) for the HX-fighter competition, a programme that replaces the Ilmavoimat (Finnish Air Force) F-18 Hornet fleet.

The consortium is owned by four countries, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom and involves Europe’s largest defence contractors, Airbus, BAE Systems, Rolls Royce and Leonardo. The Eurofighter capabilities were demonstrated to the Ilmavoimat during a five-day trail in January 2020. These demonstrations took place from Tampere air base (Finland) during the HX Challenge Flight Evaluation Trials.

In 2020, the four countries committed to eachother that they will continue investments in the Eurofighter capability into the 2060s. Last year, the Luftwaffe (German Air Force) purchased an additional 38 new EF2000 tranch 4s, while the United Kingdom started to fund the Typhoon development of an Advanced Electronically Scanning (AESA) radar. Five countries in Europe are operating together over 500 Eurofighters. The fifth country is Austria, a country that is not participating in the Eurofighter consertium.

The consortium is in full hope, that Finland will become the sixth country that operates the Eurofighter in Europe in this multi-billion contract. The Eurofighter Typhoon propositions go along with France’s Dassault Rafale, the US F-35A and F/A-18E/F, EA-18G and the Swedish Saab Gripen E/F. The new fighters will replace the aging fleet of Ilmavoimat F/A-18C/D Hornets in the early 2030s.

Photo by Eurofighter