BELFAST — Nordic counterparts Finland and Sweden have agreed to strengthen military cooperation by enhancing Helsinki’s counter-drone capabilities in the face of recent aerial incursions, owing to heightened tensions amid Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Finland’s Ministry of Defence said in a statement today that the move demonstrates the two Scandinavian countries’ “ability to act together and take responsibility for security in the region and on NATO’s eastern flank.”
In the statement, Finland’s Minister of Defence Antti Häkkänen added that existing air and maritime cooperation stands as an “integral part” of joint collaboration, “and now we move forward to cooperate on territorial surveillance and protection of territorial integrity.”
Helsinki did not mention how national counter-drone capabilities will be improved specifically or list new commitments made by Stockholm on the matter. However, Sweden’s public broadcaster SVT reported today that Stockholm has approved a request from Helsinki to send aircraft including Gripen fighter jets and Swedish warships to Finland, near term, as a means of patrolling “risk areas” along the Finnish-Russian border.
“We trust one another, and together we are stronger,” said Finland’s President Alexander Stubb on X, by way of welcoming the expanded, bilateral cooperation.
Finland has faced a series of aerial incidents in recent months, a spillover from the Russia-Ukraine war, including a suspected drone flying in local airspace. The event led to the deployment of Finnish F-18 hornets over Helsinki and the Gulf of Finland.
On that occasion, Stubb said the country was “not facing a direct military threat.”
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Earlier this year, the Finnish government committed to spend €50.2 million ($58.3 million) on new counter-drone capabilities as part of a supplementary budget allocation. Funding of €44 million was earmarked for the Finnish Border Guard, with the remainder slated for the police, according to the Ministry of the Interior.