Finland rules out transfer of Hornet fighter jets to Ukraine in near future

The Ministry of Defense of Finland responded to Ukraine's request for negotiations on transferring Hornet fighters. The ministry called these discussions "irrelevant."

The Minister of Defense of Finland, Antti Kaikkonen, made such a statement, according to Yle.

Thus, the minister said that Finland considers the discussion on the possibility of transferring Hornet fighter jets to Ukraine "irrelevant."

According to him, the Hornets will still be used by the Finnish military for the next few years, after which their life cycle of about three decades will come to an end.

Kaikkonen stated that such an answer was given to the Ukrainian side last week.

Earlier, Ukraine submitted a request to Finland to discuss the possibility of transferring F/A-18 Hornet fighter jets to Ukraine's armed forces.

After that, Finland announced that Hornet fighters would not be handed over to Ukraine in the near future.

Such transfer was ruled out at least until the end of 2026.

For reference:

As Rubryka wrote earlier, Commander of Ukraine's Air Force, Lieutenant General Mykola Oleshchuk, explained why F-16 fighter jets are essential for Ukraine.

The F-16 offers the best protection for the rear regions, he says. On average, Ukrainian air defense destroys about 75% of incoming cruise missiles and attack drones.

25% hit their targets. F-16s can effectively destroy them even at the borders, preventing missiles and drones from reaching Ukrainian cities.

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