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The nations have combined for a military exercise aimed at supporting Sweden and Finland’s transition into NATO.
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British military personnel have taken part in Exercise Vigilant Knife — a multinational training activity alongside Swedish and Finnish Armed Forces, aimed at enhancing interoperability ahead of Sweden and Finland’s official membership of NATO.
The command-post exercise was held in Rovaniemi and Rovajärvi in northern Finland from 29 August to 2 September 2022.
The United Kingdom’s contribution included the deployment of 80 British Army personnel from C Company, 2 Rifles Battlegroup.
The troops travelled from the island of Santahamina in the south of Finland, where they are currently engaging in a three-month training deployment.
In total, the multinational exercise involved approximately 2,000 troops, which together honed joint capability to deliver and receive international assistance, while also enhancing tactical and technical interoperability.
The British contingent’s specific contribution included providing anti-tank, sniper and reconnaissance capabilities to the exercise.
UK forces were primarily involved in both offensive and defensive actions aimed at testing the readiness of the Finnish forces alongside the Swedish unit.
Secretary of State for Defence Ben Wallace said engagements of this kind were “more important than ever”, given the ongoing conflict in eastern Europe.
“We welcome Finland and Sweden’s application to join NATO and will continue to exercise together so we are ready to face shared security challenges,” he added.
“Exercise Vigilant Knife is an invaluable opportunity for UK personnel to develop their skills and experience of warfighting in cold weather conditions, enabling them to be effective on the battlefield alongside their Finnish and Swedish counterparts.”
Exercise Vigilant Knife represents the latest push to shore-up defences amid heightened instability in the region following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The UK and its NATO allies have been providing military equipment and training to Ukrainian forces.
A global coalition recently agreed to enhance the International Fund for Ukraine (IFU) after meeting at the Copenhagen Conference.
The UK is among the contributors, pledging a further £250 million (AU$430 million) during the meeting with co-hosts Denmark and Ukraine.
The funding boost is expected to finance military equipment and other support to the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU), as well as the provision of maintenance and repair of existing kit, and training.
[Related: International coalition ramps up support for Ukraine]
