Air Force heads of Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Finland agree to operate their fighter jet fleets as one joint force

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  2. Wow, that is quite something. First the Netherlands integrated their land forces into the Bundeswehr, now this. Makes a lot of sense for those countries to pool highly mobile resources.

  4. Fighters of these countries:

    Finland: 55 F/A-18 Hornets in service (64 F-35 Lightnings on order)

    Sweden: 71 JAS 39 Gripens in service (60 E variants on order)

    Norway: 27 F-35 Lightnings in service (15 more on order)

    Denmark: 33 F-16 Falcons in service (23 F-35 Lightnings on order)

    Note that fighters used for training aren’t included in the ‘in service’ numbers.

  6. Translation(deepl) I’ve not done any manual corrections:.

    The heads of the air forces of the four major Nordic countries have signed an agreement. The intention is to be able to operate as a single air force. This includes joint exercises, with common support apparatus, logistics and planning.

    With a combined force, the four countries will eventually have around 250 modern combat aircraft. This is roughly on par with European powers such as France and the UK.

    Why is this important?
    The head of the Norwegian Air Force, Rolf Folland, says the main goal of the declaration is to enable the four countries to “operate as one air force”.

    The cooperation will apply in all areas. It includes various capabilities, such as surveillance aircraft, patrol aircraft, helicopters, radar systems and air defense. As well as training, command functions and logistics.

    – “This will be a formidable force that will act as a deterrent to any aggressor and provide security for the Nordic population,” the Major General told Aftenposten.

    – Is it important?

    – “We can clearly see that Russia is willing and able to use military force against its neighbors. As close neighbors of Russia, it is therefore important to build an overall capability that an aggressor like Russia will have to take into account.

    Rapid integration
    – When will this be up and running?

    – We will be well on the way to integration by the winter of 2024. A milestone along the way will be the Nordic Response 24 exercise, which will be coordinated from the Air Operations Center at Reitan near Bodø, Folland says.

    Folland has reservations when it comes to the formal aspects of Finland and Sweden joining NATO. That has not actually happened yet.

    An Arctic Command?
    Folland has not given up on the idea of an Arctic air operations center that includes both the Nordic countries and allies such as the USA and Canada.

    – “A joint air operations center is part of our plans and a prerequisite for operating as a unified unit. This will initially be a Nordic operations center, but will have the potential to develop into an Arctic unit with more players in the picture,” says Folland.

    Effective measures
    Flexible use of each other’s bases across national borders is an important measure to protect aircraft in crisis and war by being unpredictable and mobile. This is according to Per Erik Solli, a defense analyst at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (Nupi) and former F16 pilot.

    – In particular, experience from the war against Ukraine and previous conflicts has shown that this is a very effective protection measure. But the idea of a Nordic air operations center, joint situational awareness and sharing of radar images are also important, Solli writes in an email to Aftenposten.

    Will be big on a European scale
    He believes that the Nordic fighter aircraft have the range to flexibly defend the region and adjacent sea areas against attacks from the air and contribute to land and maritime operations.

    He points to the procurement of new modern F-35 aircraft:.

    Denmark is buying 27.
    Finland is buying 64.
    Norway is buying 52.
    – A total of 143 fifth-generation aircraft in the Nordic region is significant by European standards. In addition, the Swedes will phase in 60 new Gripen E aircraft and retain 60 modernized versions of the Gripen C/D fighter. “With 120 Gripen aircraft, Sweden will have the largest fighter force in the Nordic region,” Solli points out.

    His Nupi colleague Karsten Friis also emphasizes that an integrated Nordic fighter fleet of this caliber would have a “strong deterrent effect against Russia throughout the Nordic region.”.

    First time.
    This is the first time the four air chiefs have signed a Nordic letter of intent. It happened during a meeting at NATO’s Ramstein base in Germany last week. Also present was General James B. Hecker, the head of the alliance’s air command.

  10. People praise this shit, but it’s largely idiotic. Very little is usually done institutionally to make these smaller joint forces work, with no clear joint decision making apparatus.

    Which means that everyone gets to pretend it’s all fun and games, no one raises the “sovereignty” subject, and you only start seeing the problems with the structure when stressed, exactly when you want them at their strongest.

    It’s honestly no surprise it’s the Nordics and Benelux that fall for these potemkin solutions.

  11. I dont understand combining 4 air forces into 1 when you’re still covering the same airspace with the same number of aircraft. Especially with NATO memberships coming anyway

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