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The first Finnish-assembled F-18C Hornet successfully completed its maiden flight at the Finnish Air Force's Test Flight Center at Halli, Finland, on Tuesday.
Although the test flight identified some minor problems that need to be fixed, the plane performed well, according to Lt. Col. Jarkko Numminen, the senior air force representative at the Finnish F- 18 Liaison Office at the Finnish Embassy in Washington, D.C. He declined to specify problem areas.
"We are very satisfied," Numminen said. "In the beginning there are always some difficulties, but there are no major problems."
The plane--assembled by Finland's AVICOM from parts supplied by McDonnell Douglas --is the first of 57 single-seat Hornets that the Scandinavian nation has committed to buying.
Finland's F-18 is a variant of the Navy/Marine Corps' F/A-18 Hornet strike fighter. The Finnish Air Force already has seven two- seat F-18Ds, all built in the United States, the first of which was delivered last November.
Finland selected the F-18 over four competitors in May 1992 to supply the nation with a modern, high-performance fighter. The deal gave McDonnell Douglas' export business a big boost. In the contest, McDonnell Douglas beat the Lockheed Martin F-16, the French Mirage 2000-5, Sweden's JAS-39 Gripen and Russia's MiG-29.
As currently planned, AVICOM will assemble four planes this year, 10 in 1997, 13 in 1998, 18 in 1999 and 12 in 2000.
Numminen added that Finnish authorities also are pleased with the Airborne Self-Protection Jammer system (ASPJ) that they bought to equip their planes. Two of the Finland's F-18s are now equipped with the system.
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