Squadron 2020 programme of the Finish Navy to be delayed.

Recently, the Finish Ministry of Defence (MoD) had to admit that final contract negotiations for the procurement of a series of new corvettes, constituting the Squadron 2020, are to take more time than expected. Therefore, the timeline for the delivery of the first vessels of the class might also be revised.

An artist rendering of the future Pohjanmaa-class corvettes, which will be part of the Squadron 2020 programme (Picture Source: Finish MoD)

According to Major General Lauri Puranen, Programme Director of Strategic Projects at the Finish MoD, the Squadron 2020 programme, which has the procurement of four new Pohjanmaa-class corvettes at its core, is to suffer from some delays due to prolonged final contract negotiations. "It is regrettable that the procurement decisions of the Pohjanmaa-class ships have been delayed", said Puranen in an official statement.

"There will inevitably be a delay in the completion of the first ships" he added. Yet, he ended by saying that "the full operational capability of the fleet of the four ships will still be possible in 2028".

Under the Squadron 2020 programme, the Finish Navy will replace its legacy vessels with new and more modern ones. Among the ships which already were decommissioned or are planned to be phased out in the near future, there are the minelayer Pohjanmaa, two Hämeenmaa-class minelayers and four Rauma-class missile boats. The future Pohjanmaa-class corvettes will be supplemented by four modernised Hamina-class missile boats.