In order to respond to the first tranche of funding for the HX program intended to replace its fleet of F-18s, the Finnish Ministry of Defense presented on August 13, 2020 its estimated budget for 2021, showing growth of € 1,7 billion to reach € 4,87 billion, an increase of 54% with the 2020 budget. Apart from the appropriations intended for the HX program, the budget increase amounts to 0,7 %. Helsinki, which until now spent only 1,4% of its GDP in La Défense, will therefore, in a single year, exceed the 2% threshold. But not being a member of NATO, this parameter has little more than an informative aspect.
For the HX program, the Finnish government has set aside an overall budget of € 10 billion, covering the acquisition of aircraft, parts, maintenance equipment, ammunition and infrastructure necessary for the implementation of around sixty new aircraft. The exact number of devices is not specified by Finland, which wishes to acquire not an air fleet, but an air capacity, leaving to the manufacturers the responsibility of dimensioning their offer to strictly meet the firm expectations of Helsinki. In addition, the acquisition of global capacities makes it possible to eliminate face price manipulation making it possible to present a device accessible for purchase, but particularly expensive to operate, or displaying insufficient availability, or even both in certain cases.
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