Finland will deploy the US-made F-35 fighter jets to its northernmost region, Lapland, to deter the aggression from Russia as it seeks membership in the defensive alliance NATO.
Helsinki is expected to receive the first batch of the aircraft in four years’ time, the country’s air force reportedly said in a statement.
Finland Air Force Brigadier General Juha-Pekka Keränen, in a statement, said that the F-35 fleet will be commissioned first to the Lapland Air Force in Rovaniemi in 2026, according to the state-affiliated Russian outlet RT.
The airbase where the fighter jets will be deployed is situated just seven kilometres north of the city of Rovaniemi, on the Arctic Circle, where the famous Santa Claus village is located. This is Finland’s northernmost base that will host the US manufactured fighter jets.
Finland’s defence ministry struck an agreement to procure the fleet of 64 F-35 stealth multirole combat aircraft back in December 2021. US made F-35 multirole jets will replace Helsinki’s ageing F/A-18 Hornets.
While the fighter jets will arrive in the NATO favouring nation’s Rovaniemi in the year 2026, the fleet will go operational by 2030.