The Finnish Border Guard plans on fielding a replacement for Dornier 228 surveillance aircraft, under the MVX jet program, during 2026 and 2027. (Finnish Border Guard)
Updated, 4/28/23 at 7:47 am ET to include comment from L3 Harris Technologies.
BELFAST — A group of three US manufacturers and a Swedish supplier have been downselected to take part in the next phase of the Finnish Border Guard’s €163 million ($180 million) MVX jet program, aimed at replacing two Dornier 228 surveillance aircraft during 2026 and 2027.
Field Aerospace, L3Harris Technologies, Sierra Nevada Corporation and ST Airborne Systems, the Swedish firm, have all successfully moved to the new Intermediate RFQ phase, which will involve a first round of “contract terms” negotiations with each bidder, starting this summer, according to the Finnish Border Guard.
A guard spokesperson told Breaking Defense that the Intermediate RFQ phase also includes an update to the previous RFQ and an evaluation of aircraft and sensors. If required, additional negotiations will be held in the fall, before a procurement contract award for two multirole aircraft is signed by the end of 2023.
Competitors previously demonstrated aircraft and sensor compliance in order to reach the Intermediate RFQ phase but additional “practical evaluation” of each aircraft will now take place.
Both Field Aerospace and Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) are pitching the Bombardier Challenger 650 with different modifications, while L3Harris Technologies is offering the Falcon 2000LXS. Sweden’s ST Airborne Systems is proposing the Cessna Citation Longitude.
The Finnish Border Guard requires an aircraft that offers a range of more advanced capabilities to the retiring Dornier 228 fleet including a “significant improvement in operating time and coverage of wider areas,” better sensors, increased transport capacity and “use of the latest technology and more sophisticated technical systems, including real-time, encrypted data transfers.”
Once operational, the new aircraft are expected to “significantly improve Finland’s border security and the monitoring of territorial integrity,” added the Finnish Border Guard in a statement.
Specifically the MVX fleet will be expected to carry out surveillance of Finland’s land and sea borders, conduct search and rescue missions, Baltic Sea patrols and detect marine environmental damage.
SNC said in a company statement Monday that its Bombardier Challenger 650 offer includes integration of the company’s RAPCON-X (Rapidly Configurable to any mission) capability, based around long-range precision Aerial Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance (AISR).
“RAPCON-X, is a system-of-systems readily deployable within hours of notice,” added the manufacturer.
Work on the RAPCON-X aircraft will also continue from SNC’s integration center in Hagerstown, Maryland, to support the MVX bid.
Tara Martin, senior director of business development, ISR sector at L3Harris, told Breaking Defense in a statement that the Falcon 2000LXS offer includes a “close partnership” with French manufacturer Dassault and “presents extremely low risk in terms of schedule, performance, operating costs and reliability for the Finnish Border Guard.”
The aircraft design also “capitalizes on a fielded solution delivered to several international customers, and is reinforced by the French Navy choice of the Falcon 2000LXS for their ‘Albatros’ Maritime Surveillance aircraft and by the Japanese Coast Guard for their high mission cadence fleet,” added Martin.
“The optimized Falcon 2000LXS design provides superior performance and agility, while offering payload
capacity in excess of 50 percent of that of the other down selected platforms. It also offers 10 percent
greater range over the competitors, coupled with the ability to cruise at a higher altitude.”
Field Aerospace and ST Airborne Systems had not issued press statements about involvement in the Intermediate RFQ phase at the time of publication, and have been approached for comment.
