Nordic Defence Cooperation
Arctic Challenge exercise will see dozens of fighters in the northern sky
The air exercise is part of the Cross Border operations between Finland, Sweden and Norway expanding over the national boundaries. The goal is to enhance Nordic cooperation in the field of defence under NORDEFCO and develop capabilities for combined operations. Aircraft from Great Britain and the United States (US) will be also involved in the exercise.
The Finnish Air Force (FINAF) will participate in the international Arctic Challenge 2013 exercise 11 to 27 September with about ten F/A-18 Hornet fighters. The air exercise is considered one of the major training events this year for the FINAF, and it involves units from Sweden, Norway, Great Britain and the US. A total of some 80 aircraft will fly in the exercise.
The exercise has been planned and will be directed and carried out in cooperation between Finland, Sweden and Norway. The United States and Great Britain will act in the roles of training partners.
Flight activity takes place in the airspace of Finland, Sweden and Norway 16 to 20 September and 23 to 26 September from 9 a.m. till 6 p.m. Aircraft mainly operate over Northern Sweden but they also fly over the Gulf of Bothnia and in the airspace of Finland and Sweden. In addition, air activity can be observed in the extreme northwest of Finland and in the vicinity of Bodø in Norway.
The exercise bases are located in Rovaniemi in Finland, Kallax in Sweden and Bodø and Ørland in Norway. The Swedish detachment will be deployed to Rovaniemi base whereas part of the FINAF F/A-18 Hornet fleet will fly from Bodø. Oulu airport in Oulunsalo is the alternate operating base.
The exercise is performed under the direction of Commander of Norrbotten Wing 21 of the Swedish Air Force. The FINAF flight detachment is led by Lapland Air Command Commander Colonel Harri Leppälaakso.
Cost-effective and diversified training
The aim is to improve air defence capability incorporated with Nordic cooperation in the field of defence under NORDEFCO. Combined operations provide a cost-effective and high-quality opportunity to the fighter pilots of participating countries to develop national capabilities, tactical know-how and various forms of cooperation. One of the objectives is also to train service personnel for command and control, aircraft maintenance and ground support duties in combined operations.
The exercise also enables the FINAF to develop and and test the Mid-Life Upgrade 2 (MLU2) capabilities of the F/A-18, like Link 16 data link and the different aspects of air-to-surface operations.
In addition to Finland’s ten F/A-18s, Norway will assign to the exercise ten F-16 fighters and Sweden twenty-two JAS 39 Gripens. The hosting nations will be joined by the US Air Forces in Europe (USAFE) with nearly thirty F-15 fighters and one to two air refuelling tankers. The British detachment will include six Eurofighter Typhoons. The NATO Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft will be involved in the exercise, too.
For further information:
Finnish Air Force Public Affairs Section Tel. +358299291136
————————————————————————————————————
http://www.af.mil/News/ArticleDisplay/tabid/223/Article/467157/airmen-test-skills-in-first-arctic-challenge.aspx
U.S. Air Force
September 19, 2013
Airmen test skills in first ‘Arctic Challenge’
By 1st Lt. Christopher Mesnard, 100th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
ØRLAND, Norway: The first Exercise Arctic Challenge, which includes more than 60 aircraft from five partner nations, here began Sept. 16.
Norwegian F-16 Fighting Falcons, Swedish JAS-39 Gripens, Finnish F/A-18 Hornets and U.K. Eurofighter Typhoons took to the skies with U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagles, F-15C Eagles and KC-135 Stratotankers to train in a combined environment. They incorporated both strategic planning and tactical war fighting simulations, practicing in-flight maneuvers and communication strategies with each other.
Two NATO E-3A AWACS aircraft also joined in to provided aerial combat command for the dueling aircraft further simulating a real combat scenario.
“(Our) air force has, in periods, had the need to train at bigger scenarios with more aircraft, and this is difficult in Norway, with only our own planes at (our)disposal,” said Col. Baid Solheim, Main Air Station Bodø base commander. “Before the cross border training we had to deploy to foreign, far away countries to fly against other types of aircraft, [now] we fly directly from Bodø. In this way it’s very efficient in costs.”
The Arctic Challenge exercise focused on bringing the Scandinavian nations, the U.S. and the U.K. together in the air, to challenge pilots to react quickly and work together to achieve common goals. During times of maximum participation, more than 60 aircraft are expected to partake in the war-fighting scenarios.
“During this exercise, we will face almost every scenario that could be seen in any war or conflict,” said U.S. Air Force Maj. Rich Stringer, 494th Fighter Squadron assistant director of operations and lead project officer for the 48th Fighter Wing’s participation in the exercise. The different aircraft will take turns as the aggressors and will be tested on how they can respond to a variety of scenarios, according to Stringer.
The purpose of this exercise is to train air forces to operate cohesively. Arctic Challenge, in particular, allows multiple nations to perform aerial operations simultaneously; give critical feedback on how to improve processes; and become a more efficient and effective force – especially in a multi-national environment.
“These exercises provide the U.S. and NATO forces an opportunity to integrate their operations at both the tactical and strategic levels with a high level of fidelity that could not otherwise be achieved without live-fly exercises,” said Capt. Timothy Gerne, 100th Operations Support Squadron chief of wing weapons and tactics and director of operations for the 100th Air Refueling Wing portion of the exercise. “Similar to a Red Flag exercise in mission sets, large force numbers and multinational integration, the benefits of hosting locally allows us and our allies to focus resources toward operations.”
In addition to flying with allies, Airmen on MAS Bodø and MAS Ørland combined the exercise with a simulated deployment. The movement tested many assets in U.S. Air Forces in Europe including air lift, medical, legal and financial services.
“This exercise improves the readiness of everyone because of the variety of scenarios and the high level of skill that we are flying with and against,” said Stringer. “The Finns, Swedes, British, and Norwegians are all very skilled aviators and have very competent forces.”
The Arctic Challenge exercise is scheduled to continue until Sept. 26, before culminating in a final scenario which tests the pilots on their ability to operate in a diverse force.
Source