Air defence units to train together with Allies in Lohtaja
The multinational air defence exercise Mallet Strike 1/26 will be conducted at the Lohtaja Firing Range and Training Area from 12 - 21 May 2026.
Mallet Strike 1/26 is the most important live firing and air defence exercise of the conscript and reservist units. The objective of the exercise is to train the air defence system and joint operation of the Army, Navy and Air Force units. There will be participants from all of the Finnish brigade-level units that provide training in ground-based air defence as well as from the Finnish Army, Navy and Air Force. Norway will also send units to the exercise. The strength of the training audience will be approximately 1,900 persons.
— Strong air defence is a combination of the capabilities of all of the three services and their joint operation. This is what we train in the exercise Mallet Strike twice a year. Counter-UAS measures, a topical issue, will also be taken up in the exercise. This time we will also have participants from Norway, which gives our conscripts an opportunity to train multinational joint operation with Allies. The exercise will enhance the skills that the conscripts, reservists and personnel need in their tasks, the Exercise Director, Colonel Mano-Mikael Nokelainen says.
The units from different brigades will be transported to Lohtaja by road on 11-12 May. They will return to their garrisons on Thursday, 21 May. The detachments moving on the roads will be advancing at a speed of 60-80 km/h. Other road users should be prepared for slower traffic than usual.
The exercise will involve live firing with anti-aircraft missile systems and projectile weapons. Firing between 12 and 16 May 2026 will cause noise in the areas around Lohtaja and Houraati. Flight operation with fighters and helicopters will be the most active on 17-20 May, causing noise in the region.
The public can follow the exercise via the Mallet Strike 1/26 webpage Mallet Strike 1/26 - Maavoimat (in Finnish) and on social media using #malletstrike126.
