Finland co-hosts NATO's largest artillery exercise in Europe

Finnish forces have begun participating in "Lightning Strike 24," NATO's largest artillery exercise ever conducted in Europe.

This event, led by the United States, is part of the broader "Dynamic Front 25" series, taking place across five European nations: Finland, Estonia, Germany, Romania, and Poland, Caliber.Az reports citing foreign media.

In Finland, the exercises are set to occur in the Rovajärvi and Rovaniemi areas of Finnish Lapland, running until November 28. Approximately 3,600 troops are expected to take part in the Finnish segment, including around 1,250 soldiers from various international forces.

The primary goal of the exercise is to demonstrate NATO's defence capabilities in Northern Europe while enhancing 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, about 5,000 soldiers from 28 different countries will be involved in NATO's Dynamic Front 25 exercise, according to a Finnish Defence Forces (FDF) press release. Finland's participation includes personnel from army brigade-level units, the Air Force, the Border Guard, the FDF C5 Agency, the Centre for Military Medicine, and the FDF Logistics Command.

By Vafa Guliyeva