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Finland could buy billions in either F-35 or F-18 fighters, State Department announces

The State Department has approved the possible sale of either the F/A-18EF Super Hornet or the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter to Finland, which could net the United States at least an estimated $12.5 billion deal depending on which the European nation chooses.

Finland is in the midst of choosing a new fighter jet for its HX Fighter Program, a competition that includes the Lockheed Martin-made F-35 and the Boeing-produced Super Hornet. Both U.S. companies are up against France’s Dassault Rafale, the United Kingdom’s Eurofighter Typhoon and Sweden’s Saab Gripen E/F.

The F-35 deal would include 64 F-35As and related equipment, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a statement on Friday.

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The Super Hornet agreement, meanwhile, is valued at an estimated $14.7 billion and includes 50 single-seat F/A-18E jets, eight of the