Finland, with its 1,300 km border with Russia, became a member of NATO only a year-and-a-half ago but the Alliance, led by the U.S., has moved quickly to establish a major presence in the country. One of the latest manifestations of this was the two flights of B-52 bombers in Finnish airspace this past week. The first occurred on Nov. 5 when a B-52 trained with the Finnish air force after a flight from the U.S. before going on to land in Fairford, England. Two days later, another B-52 conducted a training mission over Finland, reported Newsweek. Two days later, another Stratofortress conducted a training mission over Finland. It was joined by Finnish F/A-18 and Swedish JAS 39 Gripen fighter jets. Finland and Sweden are the newest members of NATO. It was joined by Finnish F/A-18 and Swedish JAS 39 Gripen fighter jets.
“Training missions conducted with allies are part of the normal collective defense of the Alliance,” said the Finnish Air Force, adding the U.S. is an important and close ally of Finland, and mutual defense cooperation strengthens the country’s defense capability.
On the ground, the largest NATO exercise to take place in Finland so far is underway. Dynamic Front, a large-scale multinational field artillery exercise, began Nov. 4 and runs through Nov. 24, involving more than 5,000 troops, including 1,800 from the U.S. Hosted by Finland and led by the U.S. Army’s 56th Artillery Command out of Wiesbaden, Germany, it is held in multiple locations across Europe, including Estonia, Germany, Poland and Romania. Dynamic Front is the largest iteration of this annual exercise to date, reported the U.S. Army.
