LONDON—Finland is planning to send out a Request for Quotations (RfQ) for its future fighter to replace its F/A-18 Hornets in the Spring of 2018, with a possible fly-off planned in-country in 2019.
Helsinki has yet to eliminate any of the five fighter manufacturers who responded to the request for information sent out by the Finnish Defense Forces’ Logistics Command back in April 2016.
As part of its HX program, Finland wants to find a successor for its F/A-18 Hornets, which have served the neutral country since the 1990s. All three of the so-called Euro-Canards—the Dassault Rafale, Eurofighter Typhoon and Saab JAS 39E/F Gripen—and  the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter are set to take part in the RfQ process.