, The Finnish Defence Forces (FDF) said in a statement Friday that Seppo Kaarianinen, the defence minister, had decided that Finland would order three mine countermeasures vessels and auxiliary systems together worth about 245 million euros from Italian shipyard Intermarine.
Combat systems are to be supplied by Intermarine's German subcontractor Atlas Elektronik.
The navy is scheduled to take delivery of the first vessel in 2010 and the last one in 2012.
“The vessels will be EU and NATO interoperable, and, therefore, they will improve Finland's possibilities to participate in international crisis management operations,” the FDF said in the statement, adding that the vessels were primarily being procured for national tasks.
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