UK Sends Fighter Jets to Sweden and Finland for Training Drills

An F-35B lands onboard HMS Queen Elizabeth in Portsmouth, England, on Sept. 26, 2018. (PO Arron Hoare/Ministry of Defence via Getty Images)

Britain’s Royal Air Force has sent fighter jets to Sweden and Finland for training exercises as part of the UK’s “increased presence in the region” following the two countries’ application to join the NATO military alliance, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has announced.

Two F-35Bs and four Typhoons conducted “high-end warfighting training” with Finnish F-18 Hornets and Swedish Gripen aircrafts, the ministry said in a statement.

The deployments, which took place over the last month at the request of the host nations, allowed the three air forces to “develop their joint tactics and strengthen their ability to operate alongside each other,” and underlined the UK’s commitment to strengthening collective defence capabilities with Sweden and Finland, said the MoD.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace called the two countries “important defence partners” and welcomed their applications to join NATO, which he said “will make the alliance stronger as we face a renewed threat in Europe.”

“These deployments highlight our determination to enhance that partnership and ensure our forces can work together seamlessly,” he said.

Swedish defence minister Peter Hultqvist said the joint exercises “strengthen our ability to operate together in response to a crisis in our neighbourhood,” which he said is “particularly important in today’s challenging security environment.”

New NATO Allies

The UK signed mutual security assurance declarations with Sweden and Finland in May. The two countries are also members of the UK-led Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF), a coalition of 10 nations who cooperate to maintain the security of Northern Europe.

The joint exercises were part of a series of bilateral and JEF exercises planned this year at Finland and Sweden’s request, the MoD said. Later this month the UK will deploy the F-35Bs to Norway for further integration training with the Norwegian Air Force.

On July 5, NATO’s 30 allies signed an accession protocol for Finland and Sweden, allowing them to join the alliance once parliaments ratify the decision, the most significant expansion of the alliance since the 1990s.

Finland shares a lengthy land border with Russia, while Sweden shares a maritime border with Russia. The Nordic nations had resisted joining NATO for decades until the Russian invasion of Ukraine drastically altered the security situation in the region.

PA Media and Reuters contributed to this report.