More than 40 warplanes and 1,000 military personnel from four nations, the U.S., France, Britain and Finland, are taking part in the Atlantic Trident air exercise, ending June 27, to “sharpen combat capabilities” against Russia.
Generally, only U.S., British and French forces take part in the exercise, which is held on an annual basis. This year, however, the event was hosted by Finland, which shares a vast land border of more than 800 miles with Russia. The decision, official sources say, reflects recognition of the important contribution local armed forces have made to NATO since joining the alliance in 2023.
One of the goals of the training will be to perfect interoperability between the different types of fourth and fifth-generation fast jets deployed to protect NATO airspace.
Combat exercises over the next ten days will involve Royal Air Force Typhoons, French Rafale fighter jets, Finnish F/A-18 Hornets, and U.S. F-35A Lightning II and F-15E Strike Eagle aircraft, supported by tanker aircraft, transport aircraft, and an AWACS E-3 surveillance platform.
Earlier this year, USAF Maj. Gen. Jason Armagost, commander of US Bomber Task Force 25-2, said: “The history we have in the UK, particularly for air operations, is deep. The RAF trains with us in the U.S. a lot. And so the historical ties really carry us through.”
Armagost also said that the US, which will lead the exercises in Finland, will continue to need an air presence in Europe to maintain its political and strategic interests on the continent and beyond. “From Europe we can fly to Africa and the Middle East. And that has been done just in the last few weeks. This is of incredible value”, he added.
“Recurring training events like Atlantic Trident allow the U.S. to forward-deploy combat power, train in complex air environments, and sharpen integration with close partners.” a U.S. Air Force spokesperson stated.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 has triggered an increase in the frequency of U.S. bomber deployments to Europe, which insiders report would now be occurring on a quarterly basis. However, an exercise of this magnitude in a country not too distant from Putin’s Russia could contribute to further tensions between Moscow and the West.
