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Allied Air Forces Conduct Exercises in Finland, NATO’s recently joined country

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Finland, which recently became a NATO member after Turkey approved its candidacy last month, began air exercises with more than a dozen member countries and 150 aircraft on Monday.

“The exercise started today. We currently have the first major rotation underway,” Colonel Henrik Ielo of the Finnish Air Force, who is hosting the exercise, told AFP.

For about two weeks, soldiers and combat aircraft from 14 countries, 12 of which are NATO members, will take part in the exercises, especially over the northern regions of Sweden.

“As the exercise progresses, the scenarios get progressively more difficult,” Ello said.

After abandoning decades of military non-alignment, Finland — which shares a 1,300 km (800 mi) border with Russia — became the newest NATO member in April. However, the Scandinavian country has been a partner in the transatlantic military alliance since the 1990s.

“Exercise Arctic Challenge”, which the Nordic countries have hosted twice annually since 2013, this year sees the participation of the Netherlands, Belgium, Britain, Italy, Canada, France, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, the Czech Republic and the United States, in addition to the host countries.

“This is the largest training organized so far,” said Elo.

The exercise will begin with simulating defensive operations to protect airspace from attackers, with offensive elements such as air strikes being introduced at a later date.

NATO Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft – which can monitor an area roughly the size of Poland – will also take part in the exercise.

“Coordinating with our NATO allies and partners on the performance of various equipment is really important,” Elo said.

The US State Department said Secretary of State Antony Blinken is scheduled to travel to Finland this week.

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