Finnish Air Force Hornet fighters cooperating with fifth-generation fighters
The Finnish Air Force will participate with five F/A-18 Hornet multirole fighters in the FWIC 24 flight operations exercise in Norway from July 10 to August 2, 2024.
FWIC 24 (Fighter Weapons Instructor Course) is a multinational training of about six months held every two years, including a theory phase and two flight phases. The organisation of the course is shared between Norway and the Netherlands. The Finnish Air Force will take part in the first flight phase, organised by the Royal Norwegian Air Force (Luftforsvaret).
A total of approximately 20 aircraft will be seen in the exercise. The Finnish Air Force will deploy a detachment of about 70 personnel in it. The Finnish F/A-18 Hornet fighters will be based at Ørland Air Base. In addition to the Finnish Air Force, fourth and fifth-generation fighters from allied nations will fly in the exercise.
The goal of the FWIC 24 exercise for the Finnish Air Force is to practice cooperation with fifth-generation fighters in challenging air operations, deepen F-35 expertise and proficiency in various fields, and gain experience in planning multinational air operations.
"The cooperation of the Air Force's F/A-18 Hornets with allied F-35 fighters is significant for us as we will face several years from 2026 onwards when the Air Force will simultaneously operate with fighters of two different generations. The FWIC 24 exercise will also teach us more about the capabilities and tactical use of our future multirole fighter," says Lieutenant Colonel Jaakko Salomäki, Commanding Officer of the Air Combat Centre and Commander of the Air Force's detachment.
The exercise flight operations will be conducted mainly over the Norwegian Sea in Norwegian airspace. The Finnish Air Force's F/A-18 Hornet fighters will fly to the exercise on July 10 and return to Finland on August 2. The Finnish Air Force will begin flight operations on July 12.
Additional information: Lieutenant Colonel Jaakko Salomäki, Commanding Officer of the Air Combat Centre, Satakunta Air Wing, 0299 800 (Defence Forces switchboard)
