Sanna Marin, the Prime Minister of Finland, noted that Finland could consider the F/A-18 Hornet multirole fighters supply to Ukraine during her visit to Kyiv on March 10, 2023. She emphasizes that Finland will take into account this issue if the country buys the fifth-generation fighters to replace the aircraft that are in a service with Air Force now.
“Yes, I think, we can talk about the Hornet aircraft as well. Whether we can give them to Ukraine and what we need to do that,” Sanna Marin said.
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She also notes that the issue is at an early stage and wide international cooperation is required.
According to European Pravda, Finland didn’t even plan to consider the fighters supply to Ukraine.
Finnish president Sauli Niinisto claims that “nobody has discussed this question”. Antti Kaikkonen, the Minister of Defense, says that the F/A-18 Hornet multirole fighters supply to Ukraine will be “a complicated task in the coming years” because Finland needs them as well.
Moreover, major general Juha-Pekka Keranen, the Commander of the Finnish Air Force, also claims that this question has been discussed. “I understand that the Prime Minister has tried to say that this question may be discussed later, when Hornets will be decommissioned,” major general Juha-Pekka Keranen said.
He also notes that it is still going to be a complicated and multi-stage process.
Should be recalled that Finland has 55 F/A-18C Hornet multirole fighters. It was also announced that Finland was going to buy 64 Block 4 F-35A fighters to replace the Hornet fighters in 2021. Furthermore, first F-35A fighters are going to be delivered in 2026 and the F/A-18 Hornet fighters are going to be decommissioned in 2028-2030.
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