Finland’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced on 1 November that it has sent invitations to provide a revised Request for Quotations (RfQ) to all five contenders for the country’s fighter replacement programme, known as HX.
Finland’s HX programme has advanced to the next stage for the replacement of the Boeing F/A-18C/D Hornet aircraft. (Finnish Air Force)
Bidders for the programme to replace the legacy Boeing F/A-18C/D Hornet include the Dassault Rafale, Eurofighter Typhoon, Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet, Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter, and Saab Gripen.
The MoD statement also confirmed that a price cap of EUR10 billion (USD11.15 billion) had been set on the acquisition by the government’s Ministerial Committee on Economic Policy. The MoD noted on Twitter, citing Major General Kari Renko of the Finnish Defence Forces’ Logistics Command, that all five had experienced difficulty in meeting the EUR10 billion price cap. The programme’s initial plan had been for a solution in the EUR7–10 billion price range.
Responses for the revised call for tender are to be submitted by 31 January 2020, with a request for final offer later that year after a second phase of negotiations. The Finnish government will take a decision on the platform in 2021. The programme covers the acquisition of new aircraft, as well as weapons, sensors, training, and spare parts.
The Finnish Air Force is to undertake an evaluation exercise in early 2020, called HX Challenge, to validate the claims of the bidders. The exercise will take place in January and February 2020 at the Satakunta Airport in Pirkkala, near the city of Tampere.
The decision-making process and timeline for the HX programme. (Finnish MoD)
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