Finland co-hosts Nato’s largest-ever artillery exercise in Europe

The military drills will begin on Monday, with operations taking place in five European countries — Finland, Estonia, Germany, Romania and Poland.

Finnish forces will on Monday begin participating in a military exercise called Lightning Strike 24, the largest ever artillery drill series staged by Nato in Europe.

The exercise, led by the United States, is part of the Dynamic Front 25 series, which is conducted in the territories of five European countries — Finland, Estonia, Germany, Romania and Poland.

In Finland, the drills will take place in the Rovajärvi and Rovaniemi areas of Finnish Lapland until 28 November. An estimated 3,600 troops will participate in the Finnish leg of the exercise, with about 1,250 soldiers from international forces travelling to the region.

The objective is to show the alliance’s defence capabilities in the northern Europe region, as well as to practise operational command, control and cooperation with the Allied Rapid Reaction Corps.

“The size of the exercise shows that if necessary, we can receive support from Allies very rapidly indeed and also [from] command allied forces. This is a good example of the fact that our own field artillery, combined with Allied capabilities, forms a strong defence in the northern part of Finland and Nato,” Colonel Janne Mäkitalo, director of the exercise, said in a statement by the Finnish Defence Forces (FDF).

In total, approximately 5,000 soldiers from 28 different countries will participate in Nato’s Dynamic Front 25 exercise, according to the FDF press release.

Finland’s participation will involve personnel from the Army brigade-level units, the Air Force, Border Guard, the Finnish Defence Forces C5 Agency, the Centre for Military Medicine, and the Finnish Defence Forces Logistics Command, according to the FDF.