NATO’s artillery exercise spanning five European countries will see more than 5,000 soldiers from 29 nations deploy 130 weapons systems.
The US Army Europe & Africa announced that NATO will conduct its largest artillery integration drill on European soil. Finland is hosting components of the exercises along its border with Russia.
According to a press release, Lightning Strike 24 will involve more than 5,000 US military personnel and 28 allied and partner nations. They will deploy over 130 different weapon systems.
The exercise commander, Colonel Janne Makitalo said that this is a great example of how our artillery combined together with allied capabilities can form a powerful defense in the northern Finland and NATO. He also stressed that the scale demonstrates Finland’s ability to receive Allied assistance “very quickly” if necessary.
The drills will take place in multiple locations including Estonia, Germany and Poland. The Finnish portion of the drills will be held at Rovajarvi and Rovaniemi in Lapland near the Russian Murmansk Region border until 28th November.
The Finnish contingent is made up of approximately 3,600 personnel, including brigade-level units from the Air Force, Border Guard and Defense Forces C5 Agency. It also includes personnel from the Military Medicine Center and Defense Forces Logistics Command.
The exercise aims at demonstrating NATO’s defensive capability in Northern Europe, and practicing operational command, control and interaction with Allied Rapid Reaction Corps.
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