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Empresas y finanzas

Finland should replace Hornet fleet in 2020s - official report


    HELSINKI (Reuters) - Finland should replace its ageing Hornet fighter jet fleet with multirole fighter aircraft in a procurement estimated at 5 to 10 billion euros ($5.6-$11.2 billion), a government commissioned report showed on Thursday.

    The planned service life of Finland's 62 F/A-18 Hornet jets comes to an end from 2025 to 2030. The report proposed that a request for quotations for new jets should be carried out in 2017-2018 with final decisions made in the early 2020s.

    The working group did not recommend any specific model or manufacturer.

    It mentioned as possible candidates: Saab's Jas Gripen; Dassault Aviation's Rafale; Boeing's Super Hornet; Lockheed Martin's F-35; the Eurofighter, which is made by Britain, Germany, Italy and Spain.

    (Reporting by Jussi Rosendahl; editing by David Clarke)