The Finns are participating in the large Aurora 23 military exercise organized by Sweden for the first time as soldiers of a NATO country. The aim of the exercise is to defend Sweden and the Baltic Sea region.
STOCKHOLM The first Aurora war exercise was organized in 2017. The 2020 exercise was missed due to the corona, but now the exercise is bigger than ever. It involves 24,000 soldiers from 15 countries. The training lasts closer to a month.
Yesterday, 200 soldiers and 13 ships from the Uusimaa brigade arrived at the Bergö coastal base outside Stockholm. Some Finns are conscripts. This naval exercise will last for just under two weeks.
The Finns and Swedes are currently preparing to go to the open sea, where soldiers from the Baltic countries will join the exercise.
The purpose of the Aurora 23 exercise is to practice defending Sweden. Both Finns and Swedes emphasize that joint exercises between the two countries have long traditions and Finland’s NATO membership has not changed that.
Commander of the Swedish Defense Forces Micael Bydén however, is earlier Swedish Radio (you switch to another service)stated in interviews that if Sweden has to wait a long time for NATO membership, Finland will have to invest in NATO and interest in Sweden will decrease.