Finnish Patria constructs twin-seat Hornet fighter jet from fuselages of two old aircraft

Unique alteration project cost over EUR 15 million

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On Monday the Finnish defence and aerospace equipment supplier Patria arranged a roll-out event in Jämsä.
      On display was a twin-seat F/A-18 Hornet fighter jet that had been assembled from the mid-section of a Finnish single-seat Hornet damaged in a mid-air collision, the forward section of a second-hand Canadian two-seater, and a new front fuselage nearly entirely constructed by Patria.
      Similar modifications have never been constructed anywhere before.
     
The newly-assembled jet is expected to be ready for its first flight in October.
      Of the 300 systems tests following the alteration, 60 per cent have already been acceptably completed.
      Patria project manager Mika Keinonen explains that constructing a similar Hornet from scratch requires around 523,000 individual parts.
      The combining of two old planes carried out in Jämsä only called for the acquisition of about 23,000 parts from several providers in different countries, primarily Canada and the United States.
     
Two F-18C Hornet fighter jets collided in mid-air during a night flight exercise in Karstula in November 2001.
      One of the planes crashed into the ground and was destroyed, but the other was able to fly on one engine back to the base in Pirkkala.
      The alteration work carried out in 2005-2009 came with a price tag of EUR 15.1 million and required around 100,000 man-hours.
     
According to Admiral John A. Lockard, chief operating officer for the American Boeing Integrated Defense Systems, the Finns resorted to a smart solution. The construction of similar Hornets has already ceased.
      National Armaments Director and Director General of the Ministry of Defence Eero Lavonen thanks Finland’s 1992 decision to purchase the Hornets as a far-sighted notion.
      The twin-engine, slightly awkwardly-shaped fighter jet has proved excellent in practice.
      Had the Karstula accident involved two single-engined aircraft, they both would have been lost.
      According to the Air Force Commander Major General Jarmo Lindberg, the Finnish Air Force needs two-seater fighter jets not only in the training of new pilots, but also in operative use.
      In the US Navy, the single- and twin-seat Super Hornets already operate as tag teams.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Mid-Life update of Hornets is second-largest weapons deal in Finnish military history (2.10.2008)

See also:
  Two F-18 Hornets in mid-air collision, one destroyed (9.11.2001)

Links:
  Finnish Air Force F-18 Hornet (Wikipedia)
  Finnish Air Force: Hornet 10 years in Finland

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