NATO held on Thursday (02) a large-scale multinational exercise along the coast of Norway. Designated as a “surveillance activity”, the action was led by Norway itself and had the participation of Sweden and Finland, partner nations that want to the military alliance after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
According to the Allied Air Command, the multi-domain surveillance activity, with around 130 participants, focused on integrating the command and control of the t Forces in the North of SACEUR's Area of Responsibility.
Exercising NATO's ability to project credible combat air power at range, the activity involved approximately 50 aircraft, including fighter jets, tankers, ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance), AWACS (Air Early Warning and Control) and C-130 Hercules from allied nations , , Norway and the United Kingdom, as well as partner nations Finland and Sweden. Many of the aircraft were flown from their own headquarters, allowing for in-flight refueling training for the crews.
“Surveillance activities such as this strengthen NATO's ability to concentrate multinational fires from all components and underscore the Alliance's ability to protect the entire Euro-Atlantic area”, said Lieutenant General Pascal Delerce, deputy commander of Allied Air Command. "High-intensity exercises ensure that our personnel and our operational headquarters are well prepared to deploy air assets within range to sustain peace and stability."
During the surveillance activity, participants simulated live t fires, practiced Tactical Command and Control (C2) and operated in a contested environment with Electronic Warfare (EW) threats. US marine vessels and land-based missile launchers were notionally employed to enable advanced training scenarios.
“The Royal Norwegian Air Force is for the first time leading an advanced cooperative exercise with NATO and partner nations Sweden and Finland,” said Major-General Rolf Folland, commander of the Royal Norwegian Air Force.
"The exercise focuses on synchronizing the air, sea and land domains to increase the Alliance's cohesion, interoperability and ability to cooperate with our Partners. It takes good advantage of the speed, range and flexibility of all our Air Forces”, added.
During the activity, participants were able to learn from each other and strengthen relationships with other nations operating across northern Europe, highlights the Air Command. These large-scale surveillance activities improve the Alliance's overall cohesion and ensure that we can cooperate closely with key Partners.
“We are grateful that Sweden was invited to the multinational surveillance activity held yesterday,” said Colonel Peter Greberg, Chief of Operations for the Swedish Air Force.
“The activity was a fantastic opportunity to train t air operations and a clear confirmation that the Swedish Air Force is fully interoperable and ready to integrate into the NATO air domain. As a close partner of NATO, well on the way to full hip, this knowledge is more than worth realizing.”, concludes the officer.
Four Finnish F/A-18s participated in a multinational air operation flown along the coast of Norway on 2 June 2022. In total, around 50 aircraft were involved. 🇫🇮🇸🇪🇳🇴🇬🇧🇩🇪🇫🇷
The F/A-18s operated out of Rovaniemi as part of the Cross Border Training cooperation. #ilmavoimat pic.twitter.com/e57J2n1PkC
ADVERTISING - Ilmavoimat (@FinnishAirForce) June 3, 2022
The t operation comes as Oslo and Helsinki are in the midst of seeking NATO hip. The two countries are major partners in the alliance, but their entry has always come up against the complicated geopolitical relationship with Russia, with threats coming from Moscow. With tensions in Europe, from the Swedish and Finnish populations for NATO hip grew exponentially.
