Nordic Response 24 to be visible and audible in Lapland

The Finnish Defence Forces will participate in the Norwegian-led exercise Nordic Response 24 in the northern areas of Finland, Norway, and Sweden during 4–15 March 2024. From Finland the exercise will be participated by altogether up to c. 4,100 personnel and c. 700 vehicles in total. Visible and audible especially in the region of western Lapland, the exercise may cause traffic congestion in other areas as well.

With the exercise coming up, authorities in Finland, Sweden and Norway have conducted inter-agency co-operation to speed up traffic and to minimise the exercise’s impact on the traffic situation. In the area of Finland during the exercise, alongside Finnish troops will train and be on the move up to c. 3, 000 soldiers from Sweden, 450 from France, and c. 50 soldiers from the U.K. 

Training exercise activity will significantly affect traffic in the direction of Enontekiö and on the marching routes as listed below. Training audience forces may be on the move also in other areas of Lapland. Additionally, during the exercise’s onward and rearward movement (29.2.–5.3. ja 14.–17.3.), traffic may become congested on the main roads in the vicinity of western Lapland’s ski resorts. People are kindly asked to consider this when doing their route planning and prepare to reserve more time for driving than usually.  Authorities are prepared for the increase in overall traffic.

Although the increase in traffic at all hours and intensified commerce will be visible locally, the exercise will in principle have no impact on people’s daily lives. However, the daily commute in the direction of Norway may take longer than usually.

Army

The Finnish Army and Swedish Army will together form a division that will operate in the exercise in the area of Enontekiö and be on the move to Norway in the direction of E45. The strength of the Army training audience will be c. 2,500 personnel of whom 350 are service personnel, 1,060 conscripts, and 1,120 reservists. The list below comprises information on the outward and return traffic on the northern road sections.

The exercise’s outward traffic will concentrate on the northern road sections during 29.2.–5.3.:

• E8 from Oulu northbound
• Road 79 from Rovaniemi northbound 
• Road 80 from Sodankylä to Kittilä
• Road 93 from Palojoensuu to Kivilompolo
• Road sections between Kolarin–Enontekiö

Special transports carrying wide loads will be on the move during 2.–5.3. on the routes as listed above.

Traffic may occasionally be congested by the forces arriving from southern Finland on Road 4 during 1.–2.3. 

The exercise’s return traffic will concentrate on the same road sections as the outward traffic during 12.–17.3.

• E8 to Oulu 

• Road 79 to Rovaniemi

• Road 80 from Kittilä to Sodankylä
• Road 93 from Kivilompolo to Palojoensuu
• Road sections between Enontekiö–Kolari

More than half of the return traffic will focus on E75, in particular on the road section of Karigasniemi-Inari-Saariselkä.
 
During 12.–15.3. special transports will be on the move between Enontekiö–Muonio–Kittilä–Sodankylä.

Air Force

The Air Force will deploy to Nordic Response 24 altogether 12 F/A-18 Hornet multirole fighters and c. 250 personnel. The Finnish fighters will rely on the operating bases at Rovaniemi, Finland, and at Andoya, Norway.

The exercise’s flight activity will be directed to the northern areas of Norway, Sweden, and Finland. The Air Force activity will concentrate on the operating base at Rovaniemi, whereas flight activity will cover all of Lapland with its focus on the area of western Lapland. (See the map of restricted operating zone.)

Nordic Response 24 will be the Finnish Defence Forces’ main exercise in 2024

Part of the Steadfast Defender 24 drills, Nordic Response 24 will have NATO nations and partners train the Alliance’s ability to reinforce troops up north for the purpose of training a defensive joint operation in arctic conditions in the areas of Finland, Norway, and Sweden.  As Steadfast Defender 24 will be the most substantial training exercise of NATO in decades, its preparations and those of Nordic Response 24 have now been underway for a number of years already. 

Nordic Response 24 is an extensive military exercise on land, at sea, and in the air that will convene altogether up to c. 20,000 soldiers from 14 countries. The exercise will demonstrate NATO’s operating capability, cohesion, and will to defend all of the Alliance’s area. For the first time Finland will participate as a NATO member nation in training collective defence in an extensive joint forces’ exercise. Nordic Response 24 will be the Finnish Defence Forces’ main international exercise this year in which the Finnish Defence Forces’ capability will be developed to participate in NATO-led joint operations in the northern region together with allies. Participation in the exercise will advance Finland’s ever closer integration as part of NATO.