British forces took part in Exercise Vigilant Knife alongside Swedish and Finnish Armed Forces, further strengthening interoperability in anticipation of Sweden and Finland’s accession to NATO.
The command-post exercise took place in Rovaniemi and Rovajärvi, northern Finland from 29 August to 2 September 2022 and built upon Exercise Vigilant Fox which took place in July.
Around 80 British Army personnel from C Company, 2 Rifles Battlegroup took part in the exercise, travelling from the island of Santahamina in the south of Finland where they are undertaking a 3-month training deployment as part of a security agreement between the UK and Finland.
UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said:
“Whilst there is war in Europe, it is more important than ever to strengthen our international partnerships. We welcome Finland and Sweden’s application to join NATO and will continue to exercise together so we are ready to face shared security challenges.”
“Exercise Vigilant Knife is an invaluable opportunity for UK personnel to develop their skills and experience of warfighting in cold weather conditions, enabling them to be effective on the battlefield alongside their Finnish and Swedish counterparts.”
