The Finnish Navy is starting to deliver its latest new surface ship class: vessels providing a capability that illustrates how the service is harnessing its extensive Baltic expertise to add value for NATO, alongside supporting national needs.
Finland is taking further steps along the pathway for delivering its four Pohjanmaa-class corvettes: a programme the Finnish Navy (FN) says will generate permanent patrol presence at national and NATO levels across the Baltic Sea region.
Ship one, Pohjanmaa, was launched in May 2025 and commissioning is reported to be set for 2027. Ship two is in build, being scheduled for floating out in the second quarter of 2026. In January 2026 the keel was laid for ship three, and build work got underway on ship four.
The significant, high-level patrol presence and punch the Pohjanmaas will provide reflects the FN’s long-established capacity for generating enhanced maritime situational awareness across the Baltic Sea. This capacity is now being provided in a NATO context too, following Finland’s alliance accession in 2023.
“The Pohjanmaa-class vessels will bring permanent, new capabilities to the Baltic,” Rear Admiral Tuomas Tiilikainen, Commander of the Finnish Navy, told Warsight. “Finland’s and NATO’s ‘3D’ surveillance capability and year-round presence at sea will be significantly strengthened.
“The ships’ sensors and weapon systems will raise the interoperability between Finland and the alliance in the Baltic Sea to a new level, whether it is the surveillance of critical infrastructure and maritime traffic or the alliance’s ability to conduct joint maritime operations,” Rear Adm Tiilikainen added.
“These capabilities will be in use by the navy ‘24/7, 365’,” an FN spokesperson told Warsight. The navy will harness established crewing models and practices to generate the crew capacity required to deliver such presence, the spokesperson added.
Regarding the specifics of each individual platform’s progress, outfitting is underway on ship one, along with work beginning the process of verifying the ship’s technical readiness, the spokesperson said. Work is also underway to prepare the ship’s various spaces for final commissioning, with activities here including electrical, plumbing and interior finishing.
On ship two, its hull was completed at the start of 2026 and outfitting is set to begin this year. For ship three, sections are being assembled, while steel production has begun on ship four.
“The goal of the project is to have all the vessels ready for use by the navy by 2029,” the spokesperson said.
With all four ships in build, focus is already on the next phase, where the FN, the Finnish Defence Forces Logistics Command and industry suppliers begin integrating the combat system – Saab’s 9LV combat management system (CMS) – and phasing it into service, the spokesperson added.
Combat system integration is followed by sea trials and delivery; the FN verifying and validating ship capability; and commissioning. The outcomes of these phases will shape when ship commissionings will occur.
Other parallel focus areas required in preparing ships for operations include training personnel to operate the combat system and other technical aspects of the ship, as well as infrastructure construction at various locations to grow support and logistics readiness, the spokesperson said.
The ships’ modular design leaves room for new weapon systems to be added through life, but all four will initially be fitted with the same capabilities, including the Gabriel V surface-to-surface missile, which will provide a long-range fires capability, the spokesperson continued. Integrating the Gabriel weapon system into the navy’s whole targeting chain to fully utilise the missile’s capabilities is an essential part of the combat system integration phase.
Preparations also are being made to integrate the Pohjanmaa ships’ capabilities into the wider national and NATO defence system, the spokesperson continued.
In the NATO context the navy highlighted the capability and operational benefit the ships will offer, especially in terms of NATO’s Baltic region needs.
“The new vessels are highly combat resistant and suitable for the demanding Baltic conditions throughout the year,” the spokesperson said. “Operating in Arctic conditions is still a vital element for the alliance … around the Baltic Sea. The Pohjanmaa class will definitely improve alliance readiness in winter conditions.”
This enhanced readiness is evident in the significant multi-domain capabilities the ships bring, the spokesperson continued. “The vessels are equipped with modern sensors and have long endurance at sea. Thanks to their versatile capabilities, including naval mine warfare, air defence, anti-submarine warfare and surface-to-surface systems, they take our interoperability [with NATO] to a whole new level.”
