Finland picks Lockheed Martin F-35A in a huge deal

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Finland has agreed to buy 64 Lockheed Martin fighter jets to replace its aging fleet of combat planes in a 10 billion-euro deal that represents the Finnish military’s  largest ever purchase. Finland picked the American company’s F-35A fighters from five contenders, which also included the Boeing F-18 Super Hornet, the Dassault Rafale from France, Britain’s Eurofighter Typhoon and the Saab Gripen from Sweden. The Finnish air force has a fleet of more than 60 F-18 Hornets that were acquired from McDonnell Douglas in the 1990s. It started looking for a successor in 2014. The Defense Ministry said Friday that the $11.3 billion price tag for the deal with Lockheed Martin includes training and other equipment.