Finnish Air Force to Contribute to Ramstein Alloy 1 Training Event in Baltic Region

The Finnish Air Force is set to participate in Ramstein Alloy 1 training event on April 19 and 20. The event, a continuation to the earlier Baltic Region Training Events (BRTE) series, is staged in order to improve cooperation between the air services in the Baltic Sea region.

In this and subsequent Ramstein Alloys, air services from Nato member states and partner nations join together to train in air surveillance and air policing through various scenarios with the aim of improving interoperability in the Baltic Sea region. In addition to live missions, personnel at command and control centers and civilian air traffic control agencies will have an opportunity to hone their skills in order to better their cooperation. The Finnish Air Force has contributed to the event, previously known as Baltic Region Training Event (BRTE) and started in 2008, on a number of occasions.

Finland's contribution to the first Ramstein Alloy of 2016 will be two Boeing F/A-18 Hornet multi-role fighters. They will join missions involving practise identification of unknown aircraft and subsequent intervention. Also air combat is set to be exercised. Identification and intervention missions will take place in Finnish and Estonian airspace and over international waters while air combat sorties will be flown in the skies over Estonia and Latvia.

The Hornets will depart from the Kuopio-Rissala air base, to land between training missions at the Estonian base at Ämari for refueling and maintenance. Apart from the Finnish Hornets, aircraft from Sweden, Estonia, Belgium, Spain, Lithuania, Poland, Germany, and the United States are set to participate. These will be supported by Nato-operated airborne warning and control system (AWACS) aircraft.

Like the previous BRTEs, Ramstein Alloys are scheduled to take place three times a year. In 2016, the second and third exercise will be in June and September, respectively.