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Finnish Air Force

סדר הקרב · Finland

Finnish Air Force

Ilmavoimat · Flygvapnet

The Finnish Air Force was born on 6 March 1918 with a single donated Swedish aircraft, fought the Soviet Union twice between 1939 and 1944 with a mixed bag of foreign fighters and some of the highest claimed exchange ratios of the war, spent the Cold War buying MiGs and Drakens side by side under treaty limits, and in September 2026 landed its first F-35As at Rovaniemi as NATO’s newest front-line air force on the Russian border.

סימון לאומיA white centre inside a blue ring. The roundel replaced the blue swastika, the marking since 1918, in 1945
ראות נמוכהThe roundel in subdued grey tones
11מטוסי קרב
5בסיסי אוויר פעילים
1918מְבוּסָס
19סוגים שהוצאו משימוש
Photo: Julian Herzog (Website) / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)
מְדִינָהFinlandמְבוּסָס1918סטָטוּספָּעִילמַטֶהTikkakoski (Jyväskylä)מְפַקֵדTimo Herranen
הסיפור

The Finnish Air Force story: one gift aircraft, two wars against the odds, and the F-35 on the Russian border

1918–1939: one gift aircraft and a borrowed symbol

The service dates its birth to 6 March 1918, in the middle of the Finnish Civil War, when a Thulin typ D reconnaissance aircraft flew from Umeå in Sweden to Vaasa, flown by Swedish Lieutenant Nils Kindberg with its donor, the Swedish Count Eric von Rosen, as passenger. An earlier attempt to deliver an aircraft had ended in failure at Pietarsaari. Von Rosen’s aircraft carried his personal good-luck emblem, a blue swastika, and the new air arm adopted it as its national marking; it was used until 1945, long before and entirely apart from its later Nazi association. Between the wars the service built up slowly: 122 Hansa aircraft were built from 1922, the flying school moved to Kauhava in 1929, and a 1936 armament programme brought the Fokker D.XXI fighter, built under licence by the State Aircraft Factory, and the Bristol Blenheim bomber.

1939–1940: the Winter War, few against many

When the Soviet Union attacked on 30 November 1939, the Air Force had just over one hundred aircraft against more than a thousand Soviet combat aircraft facing Finland. It fought for 105 days. The official history credits it with more than 300 aerial victories for 62 of its own aircraft destroyed and 35 damaged, and records 75 airmen killed or missing; ten pilots became aces. The emblematic day was 6 January 1940, when Lieutenant Jorma Sarvanto, flying a Fokker D.XXI from Utti, shot down six of seven DB-3 bombers heading for Kuopio in four to five minutes. Help came from abroad, but mostly too late: 30 Gladiators, 33 Fiat G.50s, 30 Moranes, 12 Hurricanes and 44 Brewsters were bought or donated and arrived in the first months of 1940, and a Swedish volunteer wing flew in Lapland. The peace of March 1940 still cost Finland territory.

1941–1945: the Continuation War, the Brewster legend and the Lapland War

In the Continuation War, from June 1941 to September 1944, an air force of about 550 aircraft, roughly half of them combat types, claimed about 1,600 aerial victories for 182 aircraft lost, and 87 of its pilots became aces. Eino Ilmari Juutilainen, with 94 victories, and Hans Wind, with 75, head the list. The Brewster Model 239, a disappointment with other air forces, became a legend: Finnish sources credit it with 459 to 480 victories for 15 to 19 losses in air combat. From 1943 the Bf 109G, 159 of them delivered from Germany, carried the fight. These are wartime claims, not verified kills, and later research has trimmed some of them, but the pattern is not in doubt. After the armistice the Air Force turned on its former ally in the Lapland War, losing 10 of 60 aircraft before its last sortie on 4 April 1945.

1947–1991: treaty limits, MiGs and Drakens side by side

Peace came with hard limits. The Paris Peace Treaty of 1947 capped the Air Force at 60 combat aircraft and 3,000 personnel and banned aircraft with internal bomb bays, guided missiles and atomic weapons; the Ju 88s and Blenheims went to training and scrap. Neutral Finland then bought from both sides of the Iron Curtain, with the treaty and politics in mind: Vampires from Britain in 1953, Gnats in 1957, a squadron of MiG-21Fs from the Soviet Union in 1962, Swedish Drakens from 1972 and MiG-21bis from 1978. For two decades the MiG-21 at Rissala and the Draken at Rovaniemi and Pirkkala flew side by side, one of the few air forces anywhere to do so. The Hawk replaced the Magister as the jet trainer from 1980, and the service began preparing dispersed road bases for use in a crisis.

1992–2023: the Hornet, the HX contest and NATO

The end of the Cold War freed Finland to buy a first-rank Western fighter. In 1992 the government chose the F/A-18 Hornet after four finalists had flown test sorties at Halli; 64 were delivered from November 1995 to 2000, 57 single-seaters assembled by Patria in Finland and seven two-seaters built in the United States. Two mid-life upgrades, completed in 2016, added air-to-ground weapons including JDAM and JASSM. The Hornet’s replacement, the HX programme, began in 2015 with a government ceiling of 10 billion euros. On 10 December 2021 Finland chose 64 F-35A Block 4 fighters for about 8.378 billion euros; critics pointed to lifetime costs that reference works put at 25 to 40 billion euros, the government to the F-35’s highest overall score in the evaluation. On 4 April 2023 Finland joined NATO, ending decades of military non-alignment.

2024–2026: the F-35 arrives, the Hornet bows out

The transition is now under way. Retired Hornets have been flown to Pirkkala to be stripped for spare parts since April 2024, and HN-409 was destroyed at Rovaniemi on 7 May 2025 during air-show practice, the pilot ejecting safely. Finland’s first F-35A, JF-501, was rolled out at Fort Worth on 16 December 2025; eight aircraft train Finnish pilots at Ebbing in Arkansas, and on 18 September 2026 JF-510 and JF-512 landed at Rovaniemi. The Lapland Air Wing is to fly only the F-35 from 2028; Rissala follows, and the Hornet goes by the end of 2030. NATO membership has brought an Icelandic air-policing rotation in 2025 and, on 24 September 2026, the first joint Finnish-Swedish identification of Russian aircraft. In 2025 the Air Force also said it would replace the last four unit flags that still bore the old swastika.

When the Soviet Union attacked on 30 November 1939, the Air Force had just over one hundred aircraft against more than a thousand Soviet combat aircraft facing Finland. It fought for 105 days.Finnish Air Force · verified 2026-09-28
במבט חטוף

The Finnish Air Force in numbers

שֵׁרוּת

שם מקומי
Ilmavoimat (Finnish); Flygvapnet (Swedish)The official names in Finland’s two national languages, as used on the service’s own website. The Air Force is one of the three services of the Finnish Defence Forces (Puolustusvoimat / Försvarsmakten)
מְבוּסָס
6 March 1918The day Count Eric von Rosen’s Thulin typ D landed at Vaasa during the Civil War; the service treats it as its founding day and marked its centenary in 2018. Von Rosen’s blue swastika was the national marking until 1945; it left the Air Force Command emblem after a 2017 decision, and in 2025 the last four unit flags bearing it were ordered replaced
חלק מ
Finnish Defence ForcesAlongside the Army and the Navy. Army helicopters (NH90 and MD 500 at Utti) belong to the Army and are not counted on this page
מַטֶה
Air Force Command Finland, TikkakoskiAt Jyväskylä–Tikkakoski, which also houses the Air Operations Centre that runs 24/7 air surveillance and air policing. Air Force Command moved into underground facilities at Luonetjärvi (Tikkakoski) in 1972
מְפַקֵד
Maj. Gen. Timo HerranenIn post since 1 December 2024; promoted major general on 6 December 2024. Former commander of the Karelia Air Wing
Minister of Defence
Antti HäkkänenIn office in September 2026, in Prime Minister Orpo’s government

כּוֹחַ

כוח אדם
About 2,000Uniformed and civilian together, per the Air Force. It also trains about 1,300 conscripts a year. Wartime strength is not published
מטוסי קרב
  • F/A-18C/D Hornet — 64 delivered 1995–2000, being retired; current number not published
  • F-35A Lightning II — 64 ordered; at least 11 delivered by late September 2026, two of them in Finland

Both types will fly side by side until the Hornet leaves service at the end of 2030

נעלי ספורט
  • BAE Hawk Mk 51, 51A and 66 — about 32 modernised aircraft (Patria, c. 2021)
  • Grob G 115E — 28

41 of 67 Hawks were withdrawn with fatigue between 2012 and 2016. The Valmet Vinka left service in 2022

Transport and liaison
  • CASA C-295M
  • Learjet 35A/S
  • Pilatus PC-12NG

Flown by the Supporting Air Operations Squadron at Pirkkala. The Air Force does not publish the numbers; reference works list three C-295M, two Learjets and six PC-12NG

הגנה אווירית קרקעית
David’s Sling selectedNot an aircraft. The government announced the choice of the Israeli high-altitude system on 5 April 2023. Air defence fire control for all three services is an Air Force wartime task
תקציב הביטחון
About 6.5 billion euros (2025)The Ministry of Defence budget for 2025, as cited in reference works; 2024 spending was about 2.3 per cent of GDP. Figures for 2026 were not confirmed from an official source for this page

תַשׁתִית

כנפיים מעופפות
  • Lapland Air Wing (Lapin lennosto) — Rovaniemi, Hornet and F-35A
  • Karelia Air Wing (Karjalan lennosto) — Rissala, Kuopio, Hornet
  • Satakunta Air Wing (Satakunnan lennosto) — Pirkkala, transport, liaison and test flying
  • Air Force Academy (Ilmasotakoulu) — Tikkakoski, Hawk and Grob

Swedish: Lapplands, Karelens and Satakunta flygflottilj and Luftkrigsskolan

Main operating bases
4Rovaniemi, Rissala, Pirkkala and Tikkakoski, all shared with civil airports. Kauhava (flying ended 2014), Pori (1985) and Halli (garrison closed 2013) are former bases
Road bases
Dispersed highway stripsThe Air Force prepares road bases around the country for use in a crisis; locations are not published
Readiness
24/7 air policingHornets on quick reaction alert; from 2028 the F-35 takes over in Lapland. The first joint Finnish-Swedish QRA identification was flown on 24 September 2026
Display team
Midnight HawksFour Hawks plus a spare, flown by Fighter Squadron 41 instructors at Tikkakoski since 1997
Museum
Finnish Air Force Museum, TikkakoskiMore than 3,600 objects, including von Rosen’s Thulin, Fokker D.XXI FR-110, Hurricane HC-452 and Brewster BW-372
מִבְנֶה

How the Finnish Air Force is organised

One command at Tikkakoski over three air wings and the Air Force Academy. Two wings fly fighters, Lapland at Rovaniemi and Karelia at Rissala; the third, Satakunta, flies transport and test aircraft and keeps the air bases of southern Finland running. Army helicopters at Utti belong to the Army and are not counted here.

TH

Major General (kenraalimajuri)Timo HerranenCommander of the Finnish Air Force (Ilmavoimien komentaja) · in office since 2024
Air Force Command FinlandIlmavoimien esikunta
מַטֶה

Air Force Command Finland

Ilmavoimien esikunta
Tikkakoski

Commands the service from Tikkakoski, where it moved into underground facilities in 1972, and houses the Air Operations Centre that runs round-the-clock air surveillance and air policing. Commander Maj. Gen. Timo Herranen since 1 December 2024.

קו החזית

Lapland Air Wing

Lapin lennosto
Rovaniemi

Fighter Squadron 11 with the Hornet, and the first F-35As in Finland since 18 September 2026; the wing is to fly only the F-35 from 2028 and runs the 5th Control and Reporting Centre.

קו החזית

Karelia Air Wing

Karjalan lennosto
Rissala

Fighter Squadron 31 with the Hornet, holding identification-flight readiness for southern Finland around the clock. The second F-35 base, with the first aircraft due in 2028.

תְמִיכָה

Satakunta Air Wing

Satakunnan lennosto
Pirkkala

Transport and liaison flying with the Supporting Air Operations Squadron, test flying, and the upkeep of air bases across southern Finland. Its fighters left in 2014.

הַדְרָכָה

Air Force Academy

Ilmasotakoulu
Tikkakoski

All basic military flight training in Finland since 2015: the Grob G 115E and the Hawks of Fighter Squadron 41, whose instructors fly the Midnight Hawks.

בשירות

What the Finnish Air Force flies today

כל סוג בטעינה, מקושר לדף ספר החיות שלו במידה וקיים כזה. ספירות הן מטוסים בספרים, לא מטוסים זמינים ביום נתון.

סוּג תַפְקִיד בשירות מֵאָז יחידות הערות
McDonnell Douglas F/A-18C/D Hornetבשירות לוחם רב-משימתי — 1995 — 64 delivered between November 1995 and 2000: 57 single-seat C models assembled by Patria in Finland and seven two-seat D models built in the United States.

יוֹתֵר

Retirements for spare parts began in April 2024 and HN-409 was destroyed on 7 May 2025; the Air Force does not publish the current number.
לוקהיד מרטין F-35A לייטנינג IIבשירות לוחם רב-משימתי 11 2025 — At least 11 by late September 2026: JF-501 to JF-508 at Ebbing ANGB for training, JF-510 and JF-512 at Rovaniemi since 18 September 2026, and JF-511 held in the Azores with an avionics fault.

יוֹתֵר

Whether JF-509 had been accepted was not found.
BAE Hawk Mk 51, Mk 51A and Mk 66בשירות מאמן סילון מתקדם — 1980 — 75 acquired in all: 50 Mk 51 (four built in England, the rest assembled by Valmet at Kuorevesi), seven Mk 51A in 1993–1994 and 18 ex-Swiss Mk 66 bought in 2007.

יוֹתֵר

Patria put the modernised fleet at 32 around 2021; 41 of 67 were withdrawn with fatigue between 2012 and 2016.
Grob G 115Eבשירות מאמן יסודי 28 2016 — 28 acquired; deliveries began in 2016.
איירבוס (CASA) C-295Mבשירות תַחְבּוּרָה — 2007 — Number not published by the Air Force; reference works list three.
Learjet 35A/Sבשירות Liaison and utility — — Number not published by the Air Force; reference works list two.
Pilatus PC-12NGבשירות Liaison — 2010 — Number not published by the Air Force; reference works list six.
G 115E28
F-35A11

בהזמנה

סוּג הוזמן משלוח ראשון הערות
לוקהיד מרטין F-35A לייטנינג II (בלוק 4)בהזמנה 53 2025 The balance of the 64 selected on 10 December 2021 and contracted through Letters of Offer and Acceptance signed on 11 February 2022, after at least 11 delivered by late September 2026.

יוֹתֵר

Deliveries run to 2030. The package of about 8.378 billion euros comprised 4.703 billion for the aircraft, 754.6 million for AMRAAM and Sidewinder missiles, 2.920 billion for support to 2030, 777 million for infrastructure and 823.8 million reserved for further weapons; AIM-120D-3 missiles were ordered in December 2025.
הופעל בעבר

Every type the Finnish Air Force has retired

19 types, from the Thulin typ D to the Saab 35S, 35BS, 35FS and 35CS Draken. נתוני השיא הם מספר שלדי המטוסים שנלקחו תחת אחריות לאורך כל חיי השירות, לא מספר כוחות הצי בכל תאריך נתון.

סוּג תַפְקִיד שִׂיא מוגש הוחלף על ידי הערות
Saab 35S, 35BS, 35FS and 35CS Draken יירוט 49 1972–2000 F/A-18 הורנט About 49: 12 new 35S assembled by Valmet (the first completed 12 March 1974) and 37 ex-Swedish 35B, 35C and 35F.
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21bis יירוט 26 1978–1998 F/A-18 הורנט 26 per the Wikipedia operators list, plus MiG-21UM and US trainers; six converted for reconnaissance.
פוגה CM.170 מאגיסט מאמן סילון 80 1958–1988 BAE Hawk 18 French-built (1958–1959) and 62 built under licence by Valmet (1958–1967).
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21F-13 יירוט 22 1963–1986 MiG-21bis 22 per the Wikipedia operators list; the official history says only that a squadron’s worth was bought in 1962. Plus two MiG-21U trainers.
Folland Gnat F.1 לוֹחֶם 13 1958–1972 Saab 35 Draken 11 fighters and two photo-reconnaissance aircraft.
de Havilland Vampire FB.52 and T.55 לוֹחֶם 15 1953–1965 — Six FB.52 fighters in 1953 and nine T.55 trainers in 1955.
Bristol Blenheim Mk I and Mk IV מַפצִיץ 97 1937–1958 — 75 Mk I and 22 Mk IV: 18 bought in 1937–1938, 24 from RAF stocks during the Winter War and 55 built by the State Aircraft Factory, the last in September 1944.
Messerschmitt Bf 109G לוֹחֶם 159 1943–1954 Vampire and Gnat 162 ordered (48 G-2, 111 G-6 and three G-8); three were destroyed in transit.
Dornier Do 17Z מַפצִיץ 15 1942–1952 — 15 received in January 1942.
Brewster Model 239 (F2A-1 export) לוֹחֶם 44 1940–1948 Bf 109G 44 bought in December 1939, arriving by early March 1940.
Morane-Saulnier M.S.406 and M.S.410 לוֹחֶם 87 1940–1948 — 30 from France in February 1940, plus 46 M.S.406 and 11 M.S.410 bought from Germany by 1943.
Curtiss Hawk 75A לוֹחֶם 44 1941–1948 — 44 captured French and Norwegian aircraft received from Germany, June 1941 to January 1944.
Junkers Ju 88A-4 מַפצִיץ 24 1943–1948 — 24 received in April 1943.
פיאט G.50 פרצ'יה לוֹחֶם 33 1940–1946 — 35 ordered at the end of 1939; 33 delivered, two lost in transit.
Gloster Gladiator Mk II לוֹחֶם 30 1940–1945 — Ten donated and 20 bought from Britain, delivered 18 January to 16 February 1940.
Hawker Hurricane Mk I לוֹחֶם 12 1940–1944 — 12 bought from Britain in February 1940; two were lost in accidents on the ferry flight.
Thulin typ D סִיוּר — 1918– — Two served in the Civil War; numbers beyond that not verified.
Bristol Bulldog IVA and IIA לוֹחֶם 19 — Fokker D.XXI 17 Mk IVA bought, plus two Mk IIA donated by Sweden in 1939.
Fokker D.XXI לוֹחֶם 97 — Brewster 239, Bf 109G Seven ordered from the Netherlands in November 1936 and 90 built under licence by the State Aircraft Factory in four series; 35 were complete before the Winter War.
בסיסי אוויר

Where the Finnish Air Force flies from

פינים שחורים הם בסיסים פעילים, פינים חלולים הם אלה שנסגרו. All four main operating bases share their runways with civil airports, and the road bases prepared for a crisis are not published, so they are not on the map. Utti is an Army helicopter base, listed because it was the Air Force’s first land base.

בסיס אווירי פעיל סגור או שמורלחץ על סיכה כדי לפתוח את דף הבסיס
בָּסִיס ICAO סטָטוּס מַסלוּל הַמרָאָה יחידות ומטוסים
PirkkalaSatakunta Air WingPirkanmaa EFTP פָּעִיל 06/242,700 מטר
RissalaKarelia Air Wingצפון סאבו (פוהיויס-סאבו) EFKU פָּעִיל 15/332,800 מטר
RovaniemiLapland Air Wingלפלנד (לפי) EFRO פָּעִיל 03/213,002 m
TikkakoskiAir Force Academyמרכז פינלנד (קסקי-סואומי) EFJY פָּעִיל 12/302,601 m
  • Fighter Squadron 41 (Hävittäjälentolaivue 41): BAE Hawk Mk 51, Mk 51A and Mk 66
  • Air Force Academy elementary flight training: Grob G 115E
  • Supporting Air Operations Squadron (Tukilentolaivue): CASA C-295M, Learjet 35A/S, Pilatus PC-12NG
  • Flying Regiment 4, later 1st Wing and Häme Air Wing (Hämeen Lennosto): Bristol Blenheim, Dornier Do 17Z, Junkers Ju 88A, Messerschmitt Bf 109, הערפד של דה הבילנד, Folland Gnat, Fouga Magister, MiG-21F, Saab 35 Draken
Kauhavaformer Air Force Academyדרום אוסטרובוטניה (אטלה-פוהג'אנמה) EFKA סגור 2014 17/352,700 מטר
Halliformer Air Force garrisonמרכז פינלנד (קסקי-סואומי) EFHA סגור 2013 08/262,601 m
  • Air Force Test Flight Centre (Koelentokeskus)
Poriformer Satakunta Air WingSatakunta EFPO Closed 1985 12/302,351 m17/35801 m
  • Satakunta Air Wing (Satakunnan Lennosto)

אף בסיס אווירי לא תואם את החיפוש הזה.

סדר הקרב

Who is stationed where in the Finnish Air Force

יחידות מעופפות לפי בסיס, היחידות הנוכחיות תחילה. Fighter Squadron 11 flies in Lapland, 31 in Karelia and 41 at the Academy; 21 at Pirkkala was disbanded in 2014. Where a unit designation could not be verified, the entry says so.

Fighter Squadron 11 (Hävittäjälentolaivue 11)טייסת קרב · פעילה
F/A-18C/D הורנט, F-35A לייטנינג II
Fighter Squadron 31 (Hävittäjälentolaivue 31)טייסת קרב · פעילה
F/A-18C/D הורנט
Pirkkala (Satakunta Air Wing) · EFTPSatakunta Air Wing
Supporting Air Operations Squadron (Tukilentolaivue)Transport and liaison squadron · active
CASA C-295M, Learjet 35A/S, Pilatus PC-12NG
Fighter Squadron 21 (Hävittäjälentolaivue 21)1985–2014
Saab 35 Draken (ex-Swedish), F/A-18C/D Hornet
Fighter Squadron 41 (Hävittäjälentolaivue 41)Midnight Hawks (display team) · Jet training squadron · active
BAE Hawk Mk 51, Mk 51A and Mk 66
Air Force Academy elementary flight trainingElementary training · active
Grob G 115E
Supporting Air Operations Squadron (Tukilentolaivue)1997–2014
CASA C-295M, Learjet 35A/S, Pilatus PC-12NG
Flying Regiment 4, later 1st Wing and Häme Air Wing (Hämeen Lennosto)1939–1973
Bristol Blenheim, Dornier Do 17Z, Junkers Ju 88A, Messerschmitt Bf 109, de Havilland Vampire, Folland Gnat, Fouga Magister, MiG-21F, Saab 35 Draken

אף יחידה לא תואמת את החיפוש.

ציר זמן

Finnish Air Force milestones, 1914 to today

1918

6 March: Count Eric von Rosen’s Thulin typ D lands at Vaasa — the service’s founding day. It carries von Rosen’s blue swastika, which becomes the national marking until 1945.

1929

The flying school moves from Santahamina to Kauhava, where Finnish military pilots will train for 85 years.

1936

November: seven Fokker D.XXI fighters ordered, with a licence under which the State Aircraft Factory builds 90 more.

1939

30 November: the Soviet Union attacks. On 1 December a Bulldog pilot, SSgt Toivo Uuttu, is credited with the first Finnish air victory.

1940

6 January: Lt Jorma Sarvanto shoots down six DB-3 bombers in one sortie. February–March: Gladiators, Fiats, Moranes, Hurricanes and Brewsters arrive; the war ends in March after 105 days.

1941

25 June: Soviet air raids on Finland open the Continuation War.

1943

The first Bf 109Gs arrive from Germany; 159 are delivered.

1944

February: three major Soviet raids on Helsinki. September: armistice with the Soviet Union and the start of the Lapland War against Germany.

1945

4 April: last Finnish combat sortie of the Lapland War. The swastika gives way to the blue-and-white roundel.

1947

The Paris Peace Treaty limits the Air Force to 60 combat aircraft and 3,000 personnel and bans bomb bays and guided missiles.

1952

The Air Force is reorganised into three wings at Luonetjärvi (Tikkakoski), Pori and Utti.

1953

The first jets, de Havilland Vampires, arrive from Britain.

1958

31 July: Maj. Lauri Pekuri flies a Gnat faster than sound, a Finnish first. The last Blenheim flies on 20 May.

1962

Finland buys a squadron of MiG-21F fighters, the first MiG-21 customer outside the Warsaw Pact.

1972

Swedish Drakens enter service; the MiG-21bis follows from 1978. East and West fly side by side until 1998.

1980

19 December: the first BAE Hawk is delivered; the Magister goes in 1988.

1992

The government endorses the F/A-18 Hornet; 64 are delivered from November 1995 to 2000.

2000

16 August: the last Drakens are retired and all three fighter wings fly the Hornet.

2014

Defence reform: flying ends at Kauhava and Fighter Squadron 21 leaves Pirkkala; the Hawks move to Tikkakoski.

2017

The decision is taken to drop the swastika from the Air Force Command emblem; it becomes public in June 2020.

2021

10 December: the government selects 64 F-35A fighters for about 8.378 billion euros; the Letters of Offer and Acceptance are signed on 11 February 2022.

2023

4 April: Finland becomes NATO’s 31st member.

2025

Four Hornets fly Icelandic air policing in January–February. 7 May: HN-409 crashes at Rovaniemi; the pilot ejects. 16 December: JF-501, Finland’s first F-35A, is rolled out at Fort Worth.

2026

18 September: JF-510 and JF-512 land at Rovaniemi, the first F-35As in Finland. 24 September: first joint Finnish-Swedish identification of Russian aircraft.

שיא קרבי

Every war the Finnish Air Force has fought

גיחות והפסדים היכן שהרקורד נותן להם, וריק אמיתי היכן שלא.

4סכסוכים
1939רֵאשִׁית
254מטוס אבד
91נהרג
  • The Winter War 1939–1940 Defended Finnish airspace and supported the army against the Soviet invasion with just over a hundred aircraft
  • The Continuation War 1941–1944 Fought the Soviet air forces alongside the German campaign in the east, defended Finnish cities and supported the army through the 1944 Soviet offensive
  • The Lapland War 1944–1945 A special detachment of fighters and bombers supported the army in driving German forces out of Lapland under the armistice terms
  • NATO air policing and Nordic QRA 2025– Since joining NATO the Air Force has flown an Icelandic air-policing rotation and integrates its 24/7 quick reaction alert with Nordic allies

פתח את רישום הקרב המלא

מהמגזין

Finnish Air Force news from Afterburner

Everything MiGFlug’s magazine has published on the Finnish Air Force and the aircraft it flies. רשימה זו מתרעננת מעצמה - סיפורי Afterburner חדשים מופיעים כאן באופן אוטומטי.

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Everything people ask about the Finnish Air Force

What aircraft does the Finnish Air Force fly in 2026?
Its fighters are the F/A-18 הורנט, 64 of which were delivered from 1995 to 2000 and which is now being retired, and the F-35A Lightning II, of which 64 are on order and at least 11 had been delivered by late September 2026. Pilots train on the Grob G 115E and the BAE Hawk; transport and liaison aircraft are the C-295M, Learjet 35 and PC-12NG.
What is the Finnish Air Force called in Finnish and Swedish?
Ilmavoimat in Finnish and Flygvapnet in Swedish, Finland’s two national languages; both names are used on the service’s own website. It is part of the Finnish Defence Forces, Puolustusvoimat or Försvarsmakten. The service has not been renamed recently.
When was the Finnish Air Force founded?
On 6 March 1918, when Count Eric von Rosen’s gift aircraft, a Thulin typ D, landed at Vaasa during the Finnish Civil War. The Air Force celebrated its centenary in 2018.
Why did the Finnish Air Force use a swastika?
Because its first aircraft came from the Swedish Count Eric von Rosen, whose personal good-luck emblem was a blue swastika. It was adopted in 1918, years before the Nazi party used the symbol, and has no connection with it. It was the national marking until 1945, when it was replaced by the blue-and-white roundel.
Does the Finnish Air Force still use the swastika?
Not on its aircraft since 1945, and not on the Air Force Command emblem since a decision taken in 2017, which only became widely known in June 2020. In August 2025 the Defence Forces said the four unit flags that still carried it, dating from the 1950s, would be replaced by a design with an eagle, because the symbol causes awkward situations with foreign visitors.
How did Finland do in the air in the Winter War?
Remarkably well for a force of just over a hundred aircraft. The official history credits it with more than 300 aerial victories for 62 aircraft destroyed and 75 airmen killed or missing in 105 days. Reference works give Finnish fighters about 200 to 218 victories, so the totals should be read as wartime claims.
Who shot down six bombers in one sortie?
Lieutenant Jorma Sarvanto, flying a Fokker D.XXI from Utti on 6 January 1940. He attacked seven DB-3 bombers heading for Kuopio and shot down six in four to five minutes, a feat the Air Force calls a world record. He ended the Winter War with 13 victories.
Was the Brewster Buffalo really a success in Finland?
Yes. The Brewster that failed with the Americans and British was credited in Finnish hands with 459 to 480 victories for 15 to 19 losses in air combat, and a ratio of 1:32 early in the Continuation War. The spread comes from sources counting different squadrons and periods, and all rest on wartime claims.
Who was Finland’s top fighter ace?
Warrant Officer Eino Ilmari Juutilainen, with 94 victories in the Continuation War, followed by Captain Hans Wind with 75. In all 87 Finnish pilots scored five or more victories in that war.
What fighters did Finland fly in the Second World War?
A collection from almost every direction: the Dutch Fokker D.XXI, British Gladiators ו Hurricanes, Italian Fiat G.50s, French Moranes, American Brewsters and captured Curtiss Hawk 75s, and from 1943 the German Bf 109G. Bombers included the Blenheim, Do 17 ו Ju 88.
How many Bf 109s did Finland have?
162 were ordered from Germany — 48 G-2, 111 G-6 and three G-8 — and 159 arrived. They were credited with 663 victories in 1943–1944, 102 survived the war, and the last Bf 109s were retired in March 1954.
Did Finland fight Germany too?
Yes, in the Lapland War of 1944–1945, after the armistice with the Soviet Union required Finland to expel German troops. An air detachment of 60 aircraft lost 10, and the last Finnish combat sortie was flown on 4 April 1945.
What did the Paris Peace Treaty mean for the Finnish Air Force?
The 1947 treaty limited it to 60 combat aircraft and 3,000 personnel, and banned aircraft with internal bomb bays, guided missiles and atomic weapons. The Ju 88s were grounded and scrapped as a result.
Why did Finland fly both the MiG-21 and the Draken?
Neutral Finland bought from both sides of the Cold War, with an eye on relations with Moscow as well as the West. The מיג-21 arrived from 1962 and the Swedish Draken from 1972, and they served side by side until the MiG-21 went in 1998 and the Draken on 16 August 2000.
Was Finland the first MiG-21 customer outside the Warsaw Pact?
Yes, according to reference works: Finland bought a squadron of MiG-21F fighters in 1962 and later the MiG-21bis, flown by the Karelia Air Wing until 1998.
When did Finland get the F/A-18 Hornet?
The government chose the F/A-18 הורנט in 1992 and the first six two-seaters arrived in November 1995. By 2000 all 64 had been delivered — 57 single-seaters assembled by Patria in Finland and seven two-seaters built in the United States.
Why did Finland choose the F-35?
In the HX competition the F-35A received the highest overall score in the evaluation against the Super Hornet, Rafale, Typhoon and Gripen E. The government selected 64 on 10 December 2021 for about 8.378 billion euros, within a 10 billion euro ceiling set in 2019.
How much did the F-35 deal cost Finland?
About 8.378 billion euros: 4.703 billion for the aircraft, 754.6 million for air-to-air missiles, 2.920 billion for support up to 2030, 777 million for infrastructure and 823.8 million for further weapons. Annual operating costs are to stay below 254 million euros. Critics have pointed to the much larger lifetime cost.
When did the first F-35s arrive in Finland?
On 18 September 2026, when JF-510 and JF-512 landed at Rovaniemi at 17.45 after a ferry flight from Fort Worth via the Azores. A third, JF-511, stayed in the Azores with an avionics fault. Eight more remain at Ebbing in Arkansas to train Finnish pilots until early 2028.
Where will Finland’s F-35s be based?
First at Rovaniemi with the Lapland Air Wing, which is to fly only the F-35A from 2028, and then at Rissala near Kuopio with the Karelia Air Wing, which receives its first F-35s in 2028.
When will the Hornet retire?
By the end of 2030, when the F-35A is to reach full operational capability. Retired F/A-18 הורנטs have been stripped for spares at Pirkkala since April 2024.
Will Finland give its Hornets to Ukraine?
In April 2024 the Air Force said the retired Hornets being dismantled for spare parts were not suitable for transfer to Ukraine. No transfer had been announced by September 2026.
What happened to Hornet HN-409?
The F/A-18C crashed at Rovaniemi Airport on 7 May 2025 while practising for an air show. The pilot ejected and was not injured.
When did Finland join NATO and what changed for the Air Force?
On 4 April 2023. The Air Force flew its first NATO air-policing rotation, four Hornets in Iceland, in January–February 2025, and on 24 September 2026 flew its first joint QRA identification of Russian aircraft with the Swedish Air Force.
Does Finland use motorways as runways?
The Air Force prepares dispersed road bases around the country for use in a crisis, a practice dating from the Cold War. Their locations are not published.
Where is the Finnish Air Force Museum?
At Tikkakoski near Jyväskylä, beside the Air Force Academy. Its collection of more than 3,600 objects includes von Rosen’s Thulin, the record-scoring Fokker D.XXI FR-110, Hurricane HC-452 and Brewster BW-372, raised from a Karelian lake in 1998.
Who commands the Finnish Air Force?
Major General Timo Herranen, since 1 December 2024. He previously commanded the Karelia Air Wing. The Minister of Defence is Antti Häkkänen.
What is the Finnish Air Force’s display team?
The Midnight Hawks, four Hawks plus a spare flown by instructors of Fighter Squadron 41 at Tikkakoski, a team since 1997.

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Figures verified 2026-09-28. Order of Battle pages are regenerated from a single dataset; if a number here disagrees with a Book of Beasts page, this page is the more recent of the two.

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