NATO conducts drills in Norway with Sweden and Finland Air Forces.

According to information published by NATO on June 3, 2022, the Royal Norwegian Air Force is for the first time, leading an advanced cooperative exercise with NATO and partner nations Sweden and Finland.

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Norwegian Air Force F-35, Finnish Air Force F-18 Hornet, and Swedish Air Force JAS 39 Gripen flying in formation during vigilance activity in Norway (Picture source: Norwegian MoD)

The multi-domain vigilance activity with approximately 130 participants, led by Norway, focused on integrating command and control of Joint forces in the North of SACEUR's Area of Responsibility.

Exercising NATO's ability to project credible combat air power at range, the activity involved approximately 50 aircraft, including fighters, tankers, ISR, AWACS, and C-130 Hercules from Allied nations France, Germany, Norway, and the U.K., as well as Partner nations, Finland and Sweden. Many of the aircraft flew from home base locations, allowing air-to-air re-fueling training for Allied aircrew.

During the vigilance activity, the participants simulated live joint fires, practiced tactical Command and Control (C2), and operated in a contested environment with Electronic Warfare (EW) threats. Maritime vessels and U.S. ground missile launchers were played notionally to enable advanced training scenarios.

About JAS 39 Gripen aircraft

The Saab JAS 39 Gripen is a light single-engine multirole fighter aircraft manufactured by the Swedish aerospace and defense company Saab AB. The Gripen has a delta wing and canard configuration with a relaxed stability design and fly-by-wire flight controls.

The Gripen is a multirole fighter aircraft, intended as a lightweight and agile aerial platform with advanced, highly adaptable avionics. It has canard control surfaces that contribute a positive lift force at all speeds, while the generous lift from the delta wing compensates for the rear stabilizer producing negative lift at high speeds, increasing induced drag.