Northern Griffin 18 slated for Feb 5-Mar 23

Northern Griffin 18, the annual winter training exercise of the Utti Jaeger Regiment will start in Lapland on February 5.

This year the exercise will be organised in two parts, with the first one taking place from February 5 to February 16 and the second one from February 26 to March 23, said an official press release.

The objective of the Northern Griffin 18 is to enhance the operating capabilities and interoperability of special operations forces and helicopter crews in the demanding Arctic conditions of Lapland. Helicopter crews will be trained in the capabilities related to winter and mountain flying in conjunction with special operations and night vision flights.

The special operations forces will receive training on interoperability in reconnaissance and combat tasks as well as sustaining operating capabilities and survival skills during long transitions in fell landscape conditions, among other things. The soldiers will advance in terrain mounted on skis and on foot, by snowmobiles and by all-terrain tracked trucks. In the exercise, training munitions will be utilised.

The preparatory exercise will take place from February 5 to February 16 in the areas of Rovaniemi, Kemijärvi, Sodankylä, and Pelkosenniemi. The second part of the exercise, from February 26 to March 23, will be held in the entire Lapland region, excluding the Wilderness Areas of Käsivarsi, Paistunturi, Kaldoaivi, and Vätsäri.

In March, the exercise will be attended by international cooperation partners from Sweden, Norway, Estonia, Poland, and the United States of America.

Overall, the exercise personnel would be approximately 580 strong, around 330 of whom would be conscripts and salaried personnel of the Finnish Defence Forces and the Finnish Border Guard. The total strength of the participating international detachments is circa 250 persons.

The Finnish helicopter detachment in the exercise will comprise seven NH90 transport and utility helicopters as well as six MD500 light utility helicopters. Sweden will participate in the exercise with three AW109 multi-purpose helicopters and three UH-60M helicopters, and the United States with four MH-60S helicopters. Troops and equipment will also be transported by C-17 Globe Master and C130 cargo and transport aircraft.

In conjunction with the exercise, flight activity will be conducted at all hours in Lapland. The majority of air operations will take place in March in cooperation with the aircraft of the participating international detachments. During the flight missions, the helicopters will also do approaches and landings and may use lights and force protection flares that will appear as bright halos.

The Finnish defence ministry has approved the Northern Griffin 18 as part of the Finnish Army’s International Exercise Activities for 2018.