RFQ's are due tomorrow.
Saab already told that they responded. They publicly announce that their offer included 64, both one seater E's
and two seater F's.
https://saabgroup.com/media/news-press/ ... o-finland/For comparison here's Saab's Swiss press release from 25th Jan.
https://saabgroup.com/media/news-press/ ... itzerland/For the F-35, this newspaper article is interesting. It claims that Finland wanted also F-15 to be included, but supposedly Pentagon didn't include it. Similarly the F-35 type is "still up to Pentagon".
It's probably more likely that the user's preference matters more. Clearly they will sell any of them, and it's very likely A based on neighbors' choices.
Here's the relevant bit google translated:
However, the US government is expected to reduce the list by offering Finland only one version of F-35. Before that, all three are involved in negotiations and evaluations.
The US government made one choice on behalf of Finland already at the beginning of the project. Finland would have liked to have included a Boeing F-15 fighter, but the Pentagon did not agree.
https://suomenkuvalehti.fi/jutut/kotima ... 705c47-999In this one the soon to retire AF commander doesn't want to make distinctions of 4th and 5th gen fighters for the journalist. Instead he tells that one of the contestants has superior RCS.
google translate:
Commander of the Air Force, Major General Sampo Eskelinen, who will transfer to the reserve during the spring, did not want to make a breakdown on the fifth and fourth generation machines on Tuesday. According to Eskelinen, one candidate stands out just because it is clearly smaller than the other radar cross-sectional area.
https://www.is.fi/kotimaa/art-2000005982439.htmlIn another article it's confirmed that the
fighters will be tested in Finland in the Spring of 2020. They will be subjected to a track of some kind.
Each fighter gets two weeks to display its capabilities there (10 weeks total). Some of the testing might happen out of country. This is said by the project office, so there's no doubt it will happen.
Another google translate for your convenience:
Hornet fighter followers will arrive in Finland in the spring of 2020. At that time, the Air Force organizes a 10-week test event for them.
The matter was reported by Juha-Pekka Keränen, Operations Manager of the Air Force on Tuesday, when the Defense Administration arranged an information session on the current phase of the HX project in Helsinki. The HX project chooses the successor to the Hornet fighter.
For testing, a test track for fighters will be built in Finland, where each fighter candidate can show their abilities for two weeks. According to Colonel Keränen, all five fighters do not necessarily present all their performances in Finland, but some tests may be carried out abroad.
RFQ will be clarified once more this fall. Final offers should be in Q3 or Q4 2020. They will recommend only one solution to the next Cabinet (election this spring) in 2021. Some think that this is because they'd like to prevent the possibility of polticians having a secondary option to choose from. There's an appearance that the FDF would rather redo the whole competition, also in the case if the politicans would want a significant cut in numbers.
https://www.hs.fi/kotimaa/art-2000005981781.htmlHere's also a blog post from yesterday by the HX project leader. There's an interesting bit about Canada:
Lessons have also been learned from other fighter projects going on elsewhere. The recently published Canadian State Auditor's assessment of the Canadian fighter project also highlights the importance of timely and consistent political guidance and reception. The intention is not to judge or criticize other countries' fighter projects, but the choice of military performance in Canada is often watered down due to political turbulences.
https://www.defmin.fi/puolustushallinto ... .9639.blog