Border Guard’s new multirole aircraft purchase delays

The MVX program, which aims to procure two new multirole aircraft for the Finnish Border Guard will be delayed by about six months at most.

The authority has decided to refine the tendering schedule and the new schedule aims to conclude a delivery contract during the summer of 2024, said Finnish Border Guard in a press release on Thursday.

In 2023, the MVX program has been an Intermediate request for quotation (RFQ) phase, during which the tender request has been updated, negotiations with the prime candidates have been held and the proposed aircraft and sensors have been evaluated.

The schedule aimed to conclude the procurement contract by the end of 2023.

However, due to the additional work needs that occurred during the fall, the program schedule will be delayed by about six months at most.

The delay has been caused by the need for additional evaluations identified as the program progressed, with the aim of ensuring that the proposed systems correspond to what was promised and are suitable for the operational use of the Finnish Border Guard.

Analyzing the results of the evaluations that have already been performed has also proven to be more laborious than what was initially estimated.

In addition, the contract negotiations for the complex and extensive procurement have required time, and the Border Guard's other strategic procurements, which are ongoing at the same time, have affected the resources of the MVX program.

The delay will not affect the Border Guard's operational capability and the new aircraft are to be in operational use during the years 2026-2027.