Patria has inked an agreement for the final assembly of the first F135 engines in Finland for the Finnish Air Force’s incoming F-35 aircraft fleet.
The deal was signed with US company and F135 producer, Pratt & Whitney, in which Patria is responsible for the initial assembly and, eventually, the engines’ maintenance and repair services.
Fighter jet engine production is already underway and is scheduled to continue until 2030 at Patria’s new assembly and maintenance facility in Linnavuori, located in Nokia, Finland.
The agreement also builds on a 2024 framework contract for maintenance, repair, overhaul, and upgrade operations.
“It’s inspiring to see our joint efforts materialize – not only in building new capabilities for the F‑35 programme, but now also in taking the first concrete steps toward F135 production at the new facility by Patria’s experts,” said Petri Hepola, Patria’s Chief Program Officer, F‑35.
Finnish F-35 Fleet
Finland’s first F-35A Lightning II aircraft is expected to arrive at the Lapland Air Wing base in Rovaniemi at the end of 2026, following its launch at Lockheed Martin’s Fort Worth facility in Texas in December 2025.
While only one has been officially rolled out, 16 are currently in production, with the first eight to be initially stationed at the Ebbing Air National Guard Base in Fort Smith, Arkansas, where Finnish Air Force pilots and personnel will undergo training.
These are part of Helsinki’s 2021 foreign military sale with Washington to procure up to 64 of the fifth-generation fighter jets for nearly $10 billion — considered Finland’s biggest arms deal — to replace the air force’s aging F/A-18 Hornet fleet.
