Finland recently purchased 66 F-35As, a multirole stealth fighter of the US Air Force's primary fifth-generation. According to Kris Osborn, president of Warrior Maven - Centre for military modernisation, this move will help build a "truly continental F-35 wall across Europe".
The Finnish Air Force, on December 16, rolled out the first F-35A at Lockheed Martin's Fort Worth plant. This transfer represents a move away from senescent F/A-18C/D Hornets, which were initially acquired in the 1990s, to a fleet of 64 fifth-generation aircraft that are in line with North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) allies.
Also Read | Militant attack on Christmas Day creates chaos in Pakistan, 3 killed
Future vision
According to Lockheed's vice-president for F-35 international sales, JR McDonald, there could be around 600 F-35s flying for European countries. Osborn said that these F-35As have the military design and stealth to "override the tiny Su-57 force of Russia, making any attempt of land thrust in Eastern Europe almost impossible to support from air".
Reportedly, many other NATO members are also acquiring the F-35As with the aim of making strategic trans-Atlantic relations stronger.
NATO member countries
On April 4, 1949, NATO was created by 12 countries from Europe and North America. Since then, 20 more countries have joined, taking the total to 32 to date.
Also Read | US carries out air strikes against ISIS militants in Nigeria, releases video: WATCH
What Finland's administration believes
Antti Hakkanen, Defence Minister of Finland, said that the country's investment and its very capable defence industry will not just help the F-35 programme locally but also on a global level. Moreover, he assured that Finland was a responsible nation and would always act as a "dependable defence provider in the northern flank".
It is believed that Finland's purchase of 66 F-35A fighter jets will likely allow for the creation of a multinational force comprising more than 200 total operated networked F-35 aircraft across Eastern European countries, including Denmark, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Poland, Greece, Germany and Norway.
