London: NATO is set to kick off a large-scale exercise focused on defending its expanded Nordic territory, starting Monday, as over 20,000 soldiers from 13 nations engage in drills across Finland, Norway, and Sweden for nearly two weeks.
According to reports from Associated Press, Finland’s military has confirmed that the Norway-led Nordic Response 2024 will see participation from over 4,000 Finnish soldiers, marking the largest involvement in foreign exercises since Finland joined NATO.
“For the first time, Finland will participate as a NATO member nation in exercising collective defense of the alliance’s regions,” stated the Finnish Defense Forces.
In a historic move in April 2023, Finland, sharing a 1,340-kilometer (830-mile) border with Russia, decided to join NATO after decades of military neutrality. With approval from all NATO members, neighboring Sweden is also in the process of finalizing formalities to become the alliance’s 32nd member by March.
Formerly known as “Cold Response”, the biannual NATO drill traditionally took place in the Arctic regions of northern Norway. However, with NATO’s expansion to include Finland and eventually Sweden, the exercise has now evolved into “Nordic Response”, hosted jointly by Finland, Norway, and Sweden.
The participating nations in the exercise, running through March 15, include Belgium, Britain, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, and the United States.
About half of the troops will undergo land drills, while the remainder will engage in sea and air training, involving submarines, frigates, corvettes, aircraft carriers, fighter jets, transport aircraft, maritime surveillance aircraft, and helicopters, as detailed by the Norwegian military.
The joint training will primarily focus on defending and safeguarding the Nordic region, emphasizing the need to counter any threats to borders, values, and democracy, according to Brigadier Tron Strand from the Royal Norwegian Air Force.
Given the current security climate in Europe, the exercise holds significant relevance and importance, noted Strand.
Highlighting the strategic importance of the High North, NATO emphasized that the Nordic Response 2024 exercise enhances regional preparedness and the ability to conduct large-scale operations in challenging weather conditions.
Finland’s new president, Alexander Stubb, alongside Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, will inspect the drill in northern Norway on March 7, marking Stubb’s first foreign trip since assuming office as Finland’s new head of state and supreme military commander on March 1.
