Baana 20 to bring F/A-18s to a highway strip in Lapland

Lapland Air Command will conduct the Baana 20 road base exercise at the Hosio highway strip in Ranua, Lapland from 7 to 11 September 2020. The regional road no. 924 will be closed during the exercise.

Readiness to operate out of a dispersed base network is a part of the Finnish Air Force doctrine, which emphasizes mobility. Thus, all Finnish fighter pilots train how to fly from temporary operating bases. Baana 20 will include take-offs and landings at a road base, which will be established on a strip of regional road no. 924 near the village of Hosio in the municipality of Ranua.

Baana 20 will feature F/A-18 Hornet multi-role fighters, Hawk jet trainers, as well as transport and liaison aircraft. The aircraft participating in the exercise will operate out of their home bases. Both active-duty personnel and conscripts will take part the exercise. Baana 20 will be led by Lieutenant Colonel Tomi Iikkanen, Commander of Fighter Squadron 11, Lapland Air Command.

The flight operations of Baana 20 will begin on Monday 7 September and end on Thursday 10 September, Friday 11 September being a back-up day. Daily flight operations are scheduled to take place between 9 am and midnight each day. 

Road closures and movement restrictions

The regional road no. 924 will be closed at the Hosio highway strip on Friday 4 September at noon. The road will be reopened no later than on Friday 11 September at 6 pm. 

Heavy-duty vehicle traffic will be rerouted from regional road no. 924 to regional road no. 849 at Tainiemi, and to connecting road no. 9243 at Raiskio. Other traffic will be routed via regional road no. 924 to Hosio, and further via connecting road no. 9243 across the Simojoki river. The Finnish Defence Forces will guide the traffic on location, and there will be additional signage. (Map 1)

Residents of the exercise area (Map 2) will be able to access their homes and cottages normally. However, the Finnish Defence Forces will carry out identity checks and control access to the area in the vicinity of the Hosio highway strip. Therefore, residents are required to be able to prove their identity with an official ID. 

The exercise area is reserved exclusively for military aviation. All civilian aviation, including drones/UAVs, is strictly forbidden in the vicinity of the Hosio highway strip from 7 to 11 September. More detailed information about the airspace restrictions can be found online at www.droneinfo.fi and www.aviamaps.com, as well as from the Aviamaps app.

Temporary military use of real property

In order to carry out the Baana 20 exercise, Lapland Air Command has decided, in accordance with the Sections 14 and 15 of the Act on the Defence Forces, to take real property in temporary military use and restrict movement in the vicinity of the Hosio highway strip between 3 and 12 September. 

The public notification of the decision, made on 1 July 2020, can be found online on the Finnish Defence Forces website https://puolustusvoimat.fi/-/yleistiedoksianto-lapin-lennoston-paatos-1.7.2020. (in Finnish)