► Patria and RTX’s Pratt & Whitney agree on final assembly of the first F135 fighter jet engines for Finland

February 06, 2026 – Patria and Pratt & Whitney, an RTX business, have signed an agreement for Final Assembly of the first F135 fighter jet engines by Patria in Finland. The production has already begun and is planned to continue until 2030 at Patria’s new assembly and maintenance facility in Linnavuori, Nokia, in Finland.

In photo from left: Vice President for Sustainment Operations at Pratt & Whitney Andè McMillan; Captain, US Navy, Naval Attaché Brian E. Harpuder; F135 Executive Director, Integrated Customer Solutions at Pratt & Whitney Erica Leonard; Commander of the Finnish Air Force, Major General Timo Herranen; Deputy Director-General, Resource Policy Department, Ministry of Defence Sara Kajander; F-35 Program Director, Finnish Air Force Henrik Elo; Lt. Col. (Eng), Officer Specialist, Material Unit, Ministry of Defence Krista Siik; Project Director, F135 of Patria Juho Mäntylä; Chief Program Officer, F-35 of Patria Petri Hepola; System Sector Lead, F35 Branch of Defence Forces Logistics Command Harri Pekkala; Director, F-35 Materiel Project of Defence Forces Logistics Command John Öström.

As a strategic partner of the Finnish Defence Forces, Patria is responsible for initially assembling, and in future, maintaining and repairing the F135 engines. Finland’s first F-35A fighters will arrive at the Lapland Air Wing base in Rovaniemi at the end of 2026.

“It’s inspiring to see our joint efforts materialize – not only in building new capabilities for the F‑35 programme, but now also in taking the first concrete steps toward F135 production at the new facility by Patria’s experts. The Linnavuori facility and our growing Patria team are central to this progress and to the upcoming F135 engine assembly and maintenance work,” says Petri Hepola, Patria’s Chief Program Officer, F‑35.

“Patria’s capabilities will strengthen the F135 engine sustainment network and the collective defence of Finland and its NATO allies,” says André McMillian, Vice President for Sustainment Operations at Pratt & Whitney. “This agreement ensures that Patria-assembled engines will power Finland’s F-35 fleet for decades to come.”

In 2024, Patria and Pratt & Whitney signed the frame contract on the Maintenance, Repair, Overhaul and Upgrade (MRO&U) operations of F135 engines. The direct employment impact of the agreement for Patria between 2025 and 2030 is estimated to be approximately 50 people.

To commemorate the start of production of the first F135 engines, a Second World War era Pratt & Whitney engine that was recovered from a lake in Orivesi, Finland in the spring of 2025 has been conserved and brought on display at the lobby of the Linnavuori production facility.