Valmet - Aerospace

Aerospace

Main tasks were the assembly and licence production of Fouga Magister trainers, Saab Draken fighters and BAe Hawk trainers. The Tampere factory was closed in the 1960s and main part of the aircraft factory became the facility at Kuorevesi.

Indigenously-designed aircraft included the Valmet Vihuri in the 1950s, the Valmet Vinka in the late 1970s and the Valmet Redigo in the mid-1980s.

A line of military trainer aircraft for the Finnish Air Force developed and manufactured by Valmet include the L-70 Vinka and L-90 Redigo.

After the Finnish state privatized Valmet in 1996, the aviation division was detached and integrated into Finnish defence industries, Patria, as Patria Finavitec. The military part is mostly state-owned but EADS owns 27 per cent of Patria.

This period started with the assembly of F/A-18 Hornet fighter aircraft and NH90 helicopters. Civilian work increased in the form of participating in design and manufacture of parts for Airbus aircraft, most notably A380 spoilers.

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