Fighter jets flying low over Arctic Finland for military drill in northern Sweden

Some 10,000 troops from five countries are taking part in the Northern Wind manoeuvres. That includes 1500 troops and 500 vehicles from Finland. The annual exercises centre on northern Sweden, but aircraft will fly over western parts of Finnish Lapland on Friday and Saturday.

The Swedish and Finnish fighter jets will fly in and out of Rovaniemi, across a wide area including the Tornio Valley, Kemi, Kittilä and Enontekiö. The exercises, called Flygvapenövning 19 (FVÖ19), include low and supersonic flights.

Taking part at the Rovaniemi air base are 4-6 Finnish F/A-18 Hornet jets as well as eight Swedish Saab Gripen C/D multirole fighter aircraft planes and two Saab Special Flight Operations (SFO) Learjets specialised in electronic warfare.

Bright flares across the sky   

Military officials advise residents to expect noise as well as bright lights in the sky caused by defensive countermeasures known as chaff and flares.

Just over 200 Finnish pilots and troops from the Finnish Army are taking part, along with three NH90 transport helicopters. Altogether more than 60 aircraft are participating in FVÖ19.

It is part of the larger Northern Wind exercise, which involves forces from three Nato countries – Norway, the UK and the US – as well as Finland and Sweden, which are not Nato members, but which cooperate closely with the alliance. However it is not officially considered a Nato operation.

The air exercises are scheduled to last until next Wednesday afternoon.

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This story is posted on Independent Barents Observer as part of Eye on the Arctic, a collaborative partnership between public and private circumpolar media organizations.