U.S. authorizes sale of AIM-9X and AGM-154 missiles to Finland

The US State Department authorized the possible sale of AIM-9X Block II air-to-air missiles and AGM-154 JSOW air-to-surface missiles to Finland for USD 323 million.

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Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, military investments by European countries have been increasing significantly. And one of the lessons learned from this conflict is that the amount of modern ammunition currently stockpiled by NATO member countries (including recent additions) is insufficient for wartime.

See also: 14 NATO members and Finland agreed to strengthen European air defense

The Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) reported that the U.S. State Department has authorized a possible Foreign Military Sale (FMS) to the Government of Finland of:

• 40 AIM 9X Block II short-range air-to-air missiles
• 4 tactical guidance units for AIM-9X Block II
• 48 AGM-154 Joint Stand Off Weapons (JSOW) air-to-surface missiles.

Also included are Simulated Air Training Missiles (DATM); Captive Air Training Missiles (CATM); Captive Flight Vehicles (CFV); Free Flight Vehicles (FFV); along with the software, tools, transportation, training and support necessary to operate this weaponry. The package offered by the U.S. has a potential value of $323.3 million.

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The Finnish Air Force already operates these weapon systems on its F-18C/Ds, thanks to successive mid-life modernizations applied to its fleet. And both types of missiles will also be carried by future Finnish Lightning IIs, although work on integrating the AGM-154 JSOW into the F-35A is still in progress.