Finnish defence company Patria has formalized an agreement with Pratt & Whitney to undertake the final assembly of F135 engines in Finland for the country’s future F-35 fighter fleet. As part of the arrangement, Patria will initially handle engine assembly, with a longer-term role encompassing maintenance and repair operations.
Engine production has already begun and will run until 2030 at Patria’s new assembly and sustainment facility in Linnavuori, near Nokia. The deal reinforces a framework agreement concluded in 2024 that covers maintenance, repair, overhaul, and upgrade services for the F135 engine.
The Finnish Air Force is expected to receive its first F-35A aircraft at Rovaniemi’s Lapland Air Wing toward the end of 2026, following the aircraft’s formal rollout in Fort Worth, Texas, in December 2025. Although only one jet has been publicly unveiled so far, 16 aircraft are currently in production. The first eight will be deployed to Ebbing Air National Guard Base in Arkansas to support pilot and maintainer training.
These deliveries are part of Helsinki’s landmark 2021 foreign military sales deal with Washington for up to 64 fifth-generation fighters, valued at close to $10 billion. The acquisition represents Finland’s largest-ever arms purchase and will see the F-35 replace the Air Force’s legacy F/A-18 Hornets.
