British troops have taken half in a joint “high-readiness exercise” alongside Finnish forces, as Finland strikes nearer to becoming a member of NATO.
About 150 British Army and Royal Air pressure personnel joined US and Finnish counterparts within the four-day Exercise Vigilant Fox, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) stated.
The joint train comes after NATO signed an accession protocol with Finland to hitch the army alliance earlier this month, which started the ratification course of for members.
Finland and Sweden each confirmed their intention to hitch NATO following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Earlier this month it emerged that the RAF has despatched 4 Typhoons and two F-35Bs to Finland and Sweden for joint coaching workouts.
Finland signed a mutual safety assurance declaration with the UK in May, and can also be a member of the UK-led Joint Expeditionary Force, a coalition of 10 nations.
The MoD stated British troops based mostly in Estonia as a part of the British Army’s Project Unified Stance have been flown into Finland in Royal Air Force Chinook helicopters as a part of the train.
Defence minister James Heappey stated: “Exercise Vigilant Fox has demonstrated the strength and interoperability of our armed forces with our US and Finnish allies and reaffirms our commitment to the defence and security of the Baltic Sea region.”
Wing Commander Stephen Boyle, the UK defence attaché in Helsinki, stated: “Our soldiers, sailors and aviators have received a warm welcome in Finland over the last few months.
“Exercise Vigilant Fox is the most recent exercise in an ongoing collection of occasions throughout the domains. As Finland strikes in the direction of full NATO Membership, we are going to proceed to hunt alternatives like this to point out solidarity with Finland, study from one another and enhance our capacity to function collectively.”
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Source: information.sky.com”