The air forces of Finland, Sweden, Norway and Denmark have signed the first-ever letter of intent aiming to strengthen common air defence between the countries.
The joint statement mentioned “seamless cooperation” between air forces and ”an ability to operate together in all circumstances”.
“The target is to plan how the air force of four countries can be utilised efficiently in all situations. The intent for an organisational change where all forces would be unified under one command centre does not exist,” the Commander of the Finnish Air Force Juha-Pekka Keränen Helsingin Sanomat on Monday.
He also criticised international media for “cutting corners” and cited the Norwegian Aftenposten for its false reporting on a unified Nordic fleet consisting of 250 fighter jets.
Still, there are plans to introduce a template which would enable flexible use of all air bases in the Nordic in the future as the aim is to gradually work towards creating a common ”situational awareness” and building a common training and exercise scheme.
Referring to the letter of intent between Nordic countries, Keränen made that ”it is a notification to NATO that we [Nordic countries] wish to work together in this matter.”
“Obviously, it is also messaging Russia of our intention to act together as Nordics in the future. That goal requires concrete steps,” he added.
(Pekka Vänttinen | EURACTIV.com)
Source: euractiv.com
