Since January, a series of NATO military exercises have been underway in Europe, constituting the largest joint training and defense operation between allies since the end of the Cold War, with 90,000 soldiers involved. In this context, the Nordic Response exercise begins on Sunday March 3 in the Arctic, notably on Swedish soil, a first for the country which is not yet officially a member of NATO.
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With our correspondent in Stockholm, Carlotta Morteo
For the first time, Sweden will participate in a NATO military exercise. The country is not yet an official member of the alliance but makes its territory available in the Far North and commits 4,500 soldiers to this cross-border exercise.
The defense of the Arctic has always been under the leadership of Norway, a historic member of NATO, which will therefore direct operations. But this year, the 20,000 soldiers from 13 countries will train throughout Western Lapland, from Norway to Finland, via Sweden. A vast playground, which expands by more than 500 square km, where more than a hundred military planes will meet.
This will be the first ever test of a joint air defense operation between all Nordic countries as part of the alliance. But Norway, Finland and Sweden are already very integrated from an aerial point of view, since they have been training together almost weekly since 2009.
The Nordic Response exercise will also examine the level of interoperability of land and naval forces in the region, and refine logistics issues across borders.
But for now, the Nordic zone remains divided within the NATO structure: Norway is under the command of Norfolk, based in the United States, while Finland is incorporated into Brunssum, based in the Netherlands. . Sweden’s entry into the Alliance, central from a geostrategic point of viewraises the question of a new regional architecture.
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