Finland Arms Its F-35s With America’s Deadliest Air Missile |
The Finnish Air Force decided to equip its new F-35A Lightning II stealth fighter jets with the AIM-120D3 air-to-air missile.
Faced with the reality of an ever more truculent Russia, Finland is arming up in anticipation of a future conflict with its neighbor.
The US State Department gave Finland the green light for the procurement of hundreds of advanced air-to-air missiles.
Helsinki requested and will receive 405 AIM-120D3 AMRAAM missiles and eight AIM-120D-3 guidance sections worth approximately $1.07 billion.
The AIM-120 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) is designed to take out targets at long ranges and is one of the two main air-to-air munitions (the other being the AIM-9X Sidewinder) of the US military.
“With the acquisition, Finland will have access to the latest and most capable missile version, which will improve our ability to respond to threats in the operational environment. The acquisition will further strengthen interoperability with the United States and other allies,” Finnish Minister of Defense Antti Häkkänen