NATO | Finland participates in nuclear weapons exercises, this can mean – “The Air Force is exceptionally useful in this role”

Finnish This autumn, for the first time, the military alliance NATO will participate in the annual Steadfast Noon nuclear weapons exercises.

Secretary General of NATO Mark Rutte confirmed on Thursday in London, according to Reuters, that training will begin on Monday of next week.

About 60 aircraft from 13 countries will participate in the exercises. No real weapons are used in the exercises. About 2,000 military personnel are involved, official sources said. The exercises last about two weeks.

Prime minister Petteri Orpo (kok) confirmed Finland’s participation in September Yle at the Prime Minister’s interview session.

“Finland is participating as a country that does not have its own nuclear weapons. Finland is participating as a country where it is not intended to deploy nuclear weapons, but we are participating in the exercises, showing that we belong to the alliance in all its dimensions,” Orpo said.

He did not specify how Finland would participate in practice.

So what is it about and what does participation require in Finland?

Lands can participate in NATO’s nuclear weapons exercises in many different ways.

Countries like Finland, which do not have fighter jets capable of carrying nuclear weapons, can, for example, participate in combating enemy aircraft from the ground. They may also participate in intelligence, communications or electronic warfare capabilities. Air refueling, for example, is also one possible role for the countries.

Former head of NATO’s nuclear weapons policy Jessica Cox recently opened those ways of participation In an interview with HS.

It is also possible to participate in the exercises as an observer.

One of the most important ways of participating is the so-called conventional air support. This means that, for example, Finnish planes would accompany planes that practice carrying nuclear weapons.

It seems almost certain that Finland will participate in this fall’s exercise with its fighter fleet, according to a foreign policy institute researcher Jyri Lavikainen.

Information about the exercise became public in August. British aviation website Key Aero said, referring to a NATO source, that the Hornets of the Finnish Air Force will also participate in the exercise.

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“This has a direct strategic benefit for Finland.”

Even in the fighter fleet you can still participate in many ways, depending a little on how advanced the exercise is, Lavikainen estimates.

If, for example, the exercise also includes the air forces of the imaginary counterpart, acting in this role is one option for Finnish planes, Lavikainen says.

However, he would consider providing fighter support, i.e. escorting planes carrying nuclear weapons, to be a natural role.

This is due to the fact that not many countries in Europe have such high-performance air forces, whose entire training activity would assume that the planes operate within the range of the Russian air defense system and against them.

“The Finnish Air Force is actually exceptionally useful specifically in this role,” Lavikainen says.

“I see it as a role that is very natural and that is also certainly of interest to the Defense Forces.”

The idea of ​​similar fighter support is, to put it simply, that the planes clear the way, i.e. make sure that the opponent’s air defense systems and air combat planes are destroyed or crippled in the way of the nuclear bomb and the task can be completed, Lavikainen opens.

He estimates that participating in the exercise does not require special investments from Finland.

You have to go there and you can learn about working in the NATO framework.

“But if you think about what real situation this exercise is simulating, then it’s a perfectly normal air attack.”

“This is something that the Finnish Air Force has certainly practiced for ages. [– –] Regarding that, I don’t see that anything special is actually required here.”

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“This is not any Nordic cultural cooperation, but security interests are at stake here.”

Sloppy believes that participation is of clear benefit to Finland.

Finland is a frontline country, he reminds. If NATO’s deterrence fails, the potential damage in Finland will be great.

“And ultimately the guarantee of that deterrence is NATO’s nuclear weapons.”

There are not many air forces with similar capabilities in Europe, Lavikainen repeats.

“The contribution that Finland can make here is genuine and significant for NATO’s deterrence as a whole.”

“I don’t interpret this as merely applying for an apprenticeship or presenting myself as a model student, but this has a direct strategic benefit for Finland.”

Sloppy also refers to the signal value of exercises.

Finland’s participation in such exercises or, for example, concluding a broad defense cooperation agreement (DCA) with the United States sends a message.

“It sends a signal to Russia that they have no say in how Finland manages its security. No threats work, but here we just do what is necessary and necessary.”

Lavikainen does not see any disadvantages to participating.

He states that the temptation might be to think that it would not be worthwhile to provoke Russia by participating.

“That way of thinking is purely wrong, because Russia is trying to put pressure on Finland anyway.”

To Finland of nearby countries, Denmark plays a significant role in the exercise, according to Key Aero, when it opens its airspace for the exercise.

The participation of Norway or Sweden was not mentioned in Key Aero’s news.

Sweden is a new NATO country, which affects its participation. Norway may also participate in some way, but there has been no public information about it.

Lavikainen says that he would not look at the actions of reference countries, for example Norway, because the geographical location of Finland and Norway is also different.

“This is not any Nordic cultural cooperation, but security interests are at stake here.”