[1] Designed for year-round service in the seasonally freezing Baltic Sea, Pohjanmaa-class corvettes will feature an ice-strengthened hull and ability to operate independently in ice.

However, two of the four 12-cylinder MAN 12V175D type diesel generating sets are installed on double resilient mountings within soundproof enclosures to reduce noise and vibration during anti-submarine warfare (ASW) missions.

[14][15] Before final selection, the Finnish Navy shortlisted Saab together with Lockheed Martin Canada and Atlas Elektronik as the potential combat management system provider and integrator.

[17] In addition, Pohjanmaa-class corvettes will be equipped with Patria's lightweight dual-tow Sonac DTS that includes both an active variable-depth sonar as well as a passive towed receiving array.

[6] In addition, each Pohjanmaa-class corvette will be fitted with two Saab Trackfire remote controlled weapon stations for close-in self-defence and four Rheinmetall Multi Ammunition Softkill System (MASS) decoy launchers.

[1] The initial development of the new surface combatants for the Finnish Navy began with a research and planning phase in 2008 and the Squadron 2020 project was officially launched in 2015.

[31] While the Finnish Navy[7] and the Ministry of Defence[10] refer to the new surface combatants as multi-role corvettes, several commentators[32][33] have pointed out that by displacement the 4,300-tonne (4,200-long-ton)[2] vessels should be classified as frigates.

[Note 1] In late September 2019, shortly after the construction contract was awarded, MP Johannes Yrttiaho (Left Alliance) submitted a written question to the Parliament of Finland about, among other related topics, the classification of the new ships.

[35] Since the early 2000s, Finnish Navy's surface combatant fleet has consisted mainly of fast attack craft with displacements of 250 to 300 tonnes (250 to 300 long tons).

[35] Despite some similarities in external appearance to other naval ships, the new multi-role corvettes have been tailored for the Finnish Navy's missions in the Baltic Sea and thus represent a completely new vessel concept with no reference design in service anywhere in the world.