Nordic cooperation on military flight training deepens

Finland and Norway began educational cooperation in autumn 2023 when the first Norwegian student pilots arrived at the Air Force Academy for training.

The first three Norwegian students to complete fast jet training in Finland graduated in May this year. The students who flew Hawk jets in Finland are next heading to the United States for F-35 training.

The Finnish-Norwegian training cooperation will continue as the Air Force Academy receives a second group of Norwegian student pilots in September. In 2026 more students from Norway will arrive for training. 

In addition, the Air Force Academy is preparing similar cooperation with Denmark.

“Finland has taken the initiative in developing Nordic flight training. We combine high-level expertise in air warfare with an existing, well-functioning flight training organisation”, states the Commander of the Finnish Air Force, Major General Timo Herranen. “We are simultaneously building the Nordic F-35 community where we have flown side-by-side from the very beginning.”

The cooperation bolsters Nordic security and enhances the use of resources. Joint training with shared methods is cost-efficient and ensures high quality.
Norway and Denmark are operating with the F-35 that also Finland is transitioning towards. 

The Finnish Air Force's flight training programme has already been revised for the F-35 era. The training seeks to bring elements that are required for flying a F-35 fighter already during the primary and jet training phases. These elements are focused on during the tactical flight training with the jet trainer (Hawk 2 phase).

Finland is looking ahead to joint military flight training that can be adapted according to the needs of the participating countries.

Finland's advanced utilisation of LVC training environment enables Alliance-wide and realistic MDO training (Multi Domain Operations). In the LVC training environment (Live, Virtual, Constructive), during the same flight mission it is possible to operate with real aircraft, simulators and aircraft created for the mission environment, and other elements. LVC elements can be created for both friendly and enemy forces, which enables running large and versatile flight missions and aerial operations cost-efficiently. 

The training cooperation will have no effect on the intake of Finnish student pilots. The expenses of the international students will be funded by their country of origin, and also a flight instructor will arrive with the students.

Finland's military flight training benefits from the cooperation in many ways. Best practices are shared on both sides. The course materials have been translated and made international and Finnish student pilots get to improve their language skills. 

Above all, the cooperation aids Finland in the upcoming transition to F-35 equipment. At the moment, as the Norwegian students who received Hawk training in Finland are proceeding to F-35 training, it is possible to gain information on how the Finnish military flight training prepares students for the world of flying with the F-35. These valuable experiences will be utilised in planning changes to flight training.

Together with the Nordic allies, we are building interoperable, efficient and high-quality flight training that supports joint defence capability both nationally and as part of the Alliance.

For the training of future Nordic fighter pilots, Finland provides northern conditions and dedicated expertise held in our own hands.