The construction of four new Finnish Navy battleships will be delayed by up to one and a half years, tabloid Iltalehti reported on Thursday.

Defence Ministry official Lauri Puranen, director of the ministry's Strategic Projects Programme, confirmed the postponement to the paper.

The setback will prolong the completion of the entire fleet until at least 2029, Puranen said.

As a result, the navy will have to extend the lifecycle of its old ships.

The Navy had ordered four multi-role corvettes at a cost of about 1.3 billion euros from the Rauma shipyard.

Iltalehti wrote that the delay was primarily the result of the shipyard's difficulty in designing the ships.

Puranen expressed concern about the delays in the warship design process last November. However, it was reported at the time that despite a planning snag, the entire fleet would be completed by 2028.