The Finnish Border Guard has formally kicked off its “HVX” helicopter replacement programme, announcing on 13 March 2026 that it will procure a new generation of medium-lift, multi-role helicopters to take over maritime search-and-rescue (SAR), medevac and border-surveillance duties from its ageing Super Puma and AW119 fleets. According to the statement, the service intends to acquire six to eight aircraft with advanced electro-optical sensors, satellite connectivity and auto-hover functionality that can operate safely in Finland’s sub-arctic weather and in the dark winter months. An international request for information (RFI) will be issued “within weeks,” with a formal request for tender planned for early 2027 and first deliveries pencilled in for 2030. Finland’s SAR helicopters are a vital part of the country’s mobility infrastructure. They patrol more than 1,250 km of land border with Russia, ferry medical teams to the archipelago, and routinely assist merchant ships transiting the busy Gulf of Finland. The current fleet of Airbus AS332 L1 Super Pumas entered service in the late 1980s and is increasingly expensive to maintain. Industry sources note that likely contenders include the Airbus H225, Leonardo AW189 and Sikorsky S-92, all of which have already logged cold-weather experience in the North Atlantic energy sector.
![Finnish Border Guard launches HVX programme to renew search-and-rescue helicopter fleet]()
Companies dispatching engineers, flight crews or consultants to Finland for test flights or SAR training can simplify the paperwork burden by using VisaHQ’s online visa and passport services. The platform’s Finland page (https://www.visahq.com/finland/) offers step-by-step guidance, document checklists and expedited processing options, allowing mobility managers to focus on safety planning while VisaHQ handles Schengen visa formalities.
The upgrade has direct implications for global mobility managers and expatriate safety. Helsinki’s location on the main Great-Circle routing between Asia and North America means that long-haul flights frequently divert into Finnish airspace; the Border Guard’s helicopters provide primary rescue cover for these flights as well as for cruise ships serving the Baltic’s booming tourism industry. Faster, longer-range aircraft will shorten response times by up to 20 minutes, officials estimate, an important consideration for medical evacuations involving foreign nationals and business travellers. The HVX programme also dovetails with wider efforts to harden Finland’s external frontier following the country’s accession to NATO and the prolonged closure of its land crossings with Russia. New helicopters will be equipped with encrypted NATO Link 16 tactical datalinks, allowing them to feed real-time video to the Alliance’s Baltic Air Policing mission and to Finland’s new RAPCON-X fixed-wing patrol aircraft, which begin arriving later this year. For companies moving staff or shipping high-value cargo through Finland, the announcement is a timely reminder to update emergency-response plans. Global mobility teams should verify that insurance policies name the Finnish Border Guard as a recognised rescue provider and ensure that travel risk platforms capture the latest SAR contact points—particularly for employees transiting Lapland’s remote airports or working in the offshore wind farms now being built in the Gulf of Bothnia.
Companies dispatching engineers, flight crews or consultants to Finland for test flights or SAR training can simplify the paperwork burden by using VisaHQ’s online visa and passport services. The platform’s Finland page (https://www.visahq.com/finland/) offers step-by-step guidance, document checklists and expedited processing options, allowing mobility managers to focus on safety planning while VisaHQ handles Schengen visa formalities.
The upgrade has direct implications for global mobility managers and expatriate safety. Helsinki’s location on the main Great-Circle routing between Asia and North America means that long-haul flights frequently divert into Finnish airspace; the Border Guard’s helicopters provide primary rescue cover for these flights as well as for cruise ships serving the Baltic’s booming tourism industry. Faster, longer-range aircraft will shorten response times by up to 20 minutes, officials estimate, an important consideration for medical evacuations involving foreign nationals and business travellers. The HVX programme also dovetails with wider efforts to harden Finland’s external frontier following the country’s accession to NATO and the prolonged closure of its land crossings with Russia. New helicopters will be equipped with encrypted NATO Link 16 tactical datalinks, allowing them to feed real-time video to the Alliance’s Baltic Air Policing mission and to Finland’s new RAPCON-X fixed-wing patrol aircraft, which begin arriving later this year. For companies moving staff or shipping high-value cargo through Finland, the announcement is a timely reminder to update emergency-response plans. Global mobility teams should verify that insurance policies name the Finnish Border Guard as a recognised rescue provider and ensure that travel risk platforms capture the latest SAR contact points—particularly for employees transiting Lapland’s remote airports or working in the offshore wind farms now being built in the Gulf of Bothnia.
