On October 9th, the US State Department approved the sale of the F/A-18EF Super Hornet and F-35 Joint Strike Fighter to Finland, paving the way for Finland to win the ongoing fighter jet competition with Boeing or Lockheed Martin.

These two American products will compete in a cross-border competition, including France's Dassault Rafale, the UK made Eurofighter Typhoon, and Sweden's Saab Gripen E/F.

The $12.5 billion F-35 package includes 64 F-35A conventional takeoff and landing jet aircraft, 66 Pratt&Whitney F135 engines, and aircraft related communication and electronic warfare systems. It is worth noting that it not only includes the aircraft's current data link system - the troubled autonomous data link system - but also includes an alternative under development - the combat data integration network.

At the same time, the "Super Hornet" series worth approximately $14.7 billion includes 50 single seat F/A-18E jet aircraft, 8 double seat F/A-18F, and 14 EA-18G Growlers, which are variants of electronic attacks. The product package also includes 166 F414-GE-400 engines for twin engine fighter jets, sniper targeting pods, AN/APG-79 radar, AN/ALR-67 (V) 3 electronic warfare countermeasure receiver, as well as the EA-18G's next-generation jamming mid course and advanced electronic attack kits.

Both projects include a set of ammunition for aircraft use, including 500 small diameter bomb type II weapons, 150 AIM-9X missiles, 200 long-range weapons for joint air to ground defense missiles, joint defense weapons, a joint direct attack ammunition package that turns duds into precision guided weapons, as well as various testing and support equipment and maintenance for training.

After the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency announced a possible sale notice, the Finnish Ministry of Defense issued a statement clarifying that this announcement marks an important step forward in the HX fighter jet project's procedures, but negotiations with all competitors are still ongoing.

The announcement of the notification process does not constitute Finland's procurement decision, as the decision to purchase a multifunctional fighter jet will be made by the government in 2021. In addition, the types and quantities of multifunctional fighter jets and weapons specified in the notice do not represent the final content of Finland's procurement package; on the contrary, the list released by DSCA shows the items and quantities that the US government is prepared to sell at this stage of the procurement process

In the FMS program, it is recommended to approve quantities and prices that are usually higher than those indicated by the purchasing country in its own request. The purpose of this form is to avoid submitting a new time-consuming congressional notice when the purchasing country modifies the procurement plan.

The winner of the HX competition will produce up to 64 fighter jets to replace the Finnish Boeing F/A-18C/D Hornet, which is expected to be retired by 2030. Finland does not require a specific number of aircraft with fixed capabilities, but allows suppliers to manufacture aircraft and weapon packages that best meet the operational needs of the air force and national budget.

Despite the financial difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Finnish Ministry of Defense proposed in August to significantly increase defense budget by 54% in 2021, reaching $5.8 billion (€ 4.87 billion), with the majority of the increase being due to competition from HX.

Finland also discussed the price of a package plan, which exceeded the country's budget of $12 billion for the total cost of the plan.