The exercise includes a wide range of simulated air threats, including drones of various sizes, helicopters, and fighter aircraft.
Before sunrise, the launch of multiple drones is drowned out by the roar of NH90 helicopters lifting off. A thin layer of snow covers the coastline in Finland, the area hosting the large-scale Mallet Strike exercise.
Sweden participates for the second year as a NATO member, and the deployment to Finland also serves as a major logistical test involving the movement of personnel and vehicles from south of Sweden.
“Because of the situation in Ukraine, we have to train together. The Swedish and Finnish cultures are similar, which makes cooperation easy—something that is essential if we ever need to fight side by side”, says Major Henrik Nihleen, commander of the Swedish unit.
Sweden´s contribution of several Fire Unit 98 IRIS-T systems and associated sensors, are intergraded with the command where swedish cadets are also working alongside finnish soldiers in the command post.
The exercise, held annually and first arranged in 1952, brings together over a thousand soldiers from multiple nations. This year, Swedish, Finnish, and British troops took part.
“It’s a great opportunity to train together and to test our interoperability. The way we train and think is very similar. We are working to detect and engage targets at different altitudes and speed - and many at the same time”, says Captain Jaakko Torppa, air-defence battalion commander.
For the Finnish soldiers, Mallet Strike is one of the major air-defence events of the year. The ten-day exercise has a long tradition and has been conducted twice a year since it began. And now as a NATO member, Sweden can contribute to that tradition.