LOHTAJA, Finland – Exercise Mallet Strike finished after ten days of practicing binational integrated air defence drills with almost 1,500 soldiers from across the Finnish Armed Forces and a 120-strong German PATRIOT firing unit.
We made a decisive contribution to advance interoperability and deepen integration between our PATRIOT and Finnish ground-based air defence system
For the first time since Finland joined NATO in April 2023, the armed forces of Finland and Germany trained together practicing surface-based air defence during the Finnish-led exercise Mallet Strike.
A key exercise objective has been to hone interoperability and integration of the German PATRIOT unit with Finnish NASAMS (National Advanced Surface to Air Missile System) for this purpose, the authority over the German unit was transferred to the Finnish Army increasing the effectiveness of training together and practicing communications structures and chain of command.
Finnish and German participant in Mallet Strike 2024 - This type of binational live exercise supports achieving common and individual exercise objectives including different elements of air operations. Photo by Martin Hoenig.
A German PATRRIOT and a Finnish NASAMS launcher lined up during exercise Mallet Strike 2024 demonstrating readiness and interoperability among NATO Air Defence forces. Photo by Martin Hoenig.
Finnish Army Air Defence forces training during Mallet Strike 2024 showing the national solution to defending the country against threats from the air. Photo courtesy Finnish Army.
“We wanted to show our national solution of defending our country, our air defence systems, conscripts, the way we train and fight, and what we can bring to NATO,” describes the Colonel Mano-Mikael Nokelainen Finnish Inspector of the Ground Based Air Defence Forces. “I hope and believe our German friends learned something from us – we definitely learned from them,” he added.
This type of binational live exercise supports achieving common and individual exercise objectives including different elements of air operations such as reconnaissance or electronic warfare and defence against airborne threats e.g. by surface-based or maritime systems.
“I am so proud that together with our Finnish Allies, we made a decisive contribution by participating in this exercise to advance interoperability and deepen integration between our PATRIOT and Finnish ground-based air defence systems,” said Colonel Alexander Zoklits Commodore of the German Surface-to-Air Missile Wing 1. “In doing so, we are making an important contribution to strengthening NATO's integrated air defence, providing credible deterrence and increasing the Alliance's defence capability,” he added.
Interoperability enables Allied forces to act together coherently, effectively and efficiently to achieve tactical, operational and strategic objectives. It is essential for all operations in which NATO Integrated Air and Missile Defence is involved and requires a high degree of coordination