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Finnish fighter jets to participate in Arctic exercise

Xinhua, May 7, 2015 Adjust font size:

Finland will send 16 Hornet fighters to participate in the Arctic Challenge Exercise 2015 held in the northern part of the Nordic region, said the Finnish Air Force on Wednesday.

The 12-day multi-national air force exercise will be held in Finland, Sweden and Norway from May 25 to June 5.

The exercise will see more than 100 jets from nine countries including the three Nordic nations as well as Switzerland, the Netherlands, Great Britain, France, Germany and the United States. Except Finland, Sweden and Switzerland, all the other countries are NATO members.

The aims of the exercise is to practice the abilities in planning and implementation of multinational air operations, and to develop international cooperation capacity, said the Finnish Air Force.

The Air Force said the exercise is one of its most important events of the year. The aircraft are supposed to drop weapons onto targets in Sweden and Norway, but the Finnish jets will not carry or drop weapons.

The Arctic Challenge Exercise is organized by Finland, Sweden and Norway, aiming at enhancing Nordic cooperation in the field of defense and developing capabilities for combined operations. The first exercise was held in 2013. Endit