Major General Juha-Pekka Keränen joined the Finnish Air Force in 1987. His first 20 years in the Finnish Air Force were primarily connected to fighter activities. His career progressed from fighter pilot duties to flight and squadron commanding. Major General Keränen has flown Hawk Mk51, MiG-21BIS and F/A-18C/D fighters, with the latter being his main aircraft. In 1996 he was trained at VFA-125 NAS Lemoore, receiving F/A-18 qualifications. He has over 3,000 hours of flight experience and he still flies the F/A-18. Major General Keränen has worked in Defence Command Finland to represent the Commander of the Finnish Air Force in strategic and operational planning. He served as Commander of Satakunta Air Command in 2015, Deputy Chief of Staff of AFCOMFIN in 2017 and Chief of Staff of AFCOMFIN in 2021. Major General Keränen was also the Director of the Finnish Fighter Replacement (HX) Programme between 2017 and 2021. On 1 June 2022, Major General Keränen was appointed Commander of the Finnish Air Force.