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Finnish Air Force will participate in Bold Quest 19.1

Air Force
Publication date 30.4.2019 9.32
Press release

The multinational Joint Fires Demonstration and Assessment event Bold Quest 19.1 will take place in May 2019. Flight missions of the event will be flown from Rissala and Rovaniemi Air Bases on 13–17 May and 20–24 May.

The Bold Quest 19.1 event in Finland will be led by the Commander of the Finnish Air Force, Major General Pasi Jokinen. The Finnish Air Force will coordinate the air operations associated with the event. Two F/A-18 Hornet multi-role fighters and one Pilatus PC-12NG liaison aircraft from the Finnish Air Force and five NH90 transport helicopters from the Finnish Army will participate in the event.

The aim of the Bold Quest 19.1 event is to test and verify the interoperability of ISR, C2 and Joint Fires systems based on land, sea, and in the air. The Finnish Air Force will test connectivity, interoperability and identification procedures between multi-role fighters and JTACs as part of the Finnish Defence Forces’ Joint Fires. Furthermore, the Finnish Air Force will lead the command and control of the Bold Quest 19.1 air operations and provide Host Nation Support to the detachments operating from Rissala and Rovaniemi Air Bases.

Simulated and live firings will be conducted during the event in order to verify technical compatibility. Air-to-Ground live firings will be carried out in the Rovajärvi Range Area during weeks 20 and 21.

The Bold Quest 19.1 flight missions will be flown on 13–17 May and 20–24 May between 8 am and 5 pm. The flights will take place mainly in the Air Force training areas in the vicinity of Rissala and Rovaniemi Air Bases as well as over the Rovajärvi Range Area. In Kuopio region, ground-based systems will be tested at Rissala Air Base and on temporary training areas established through agreements with landowners.

In total, approximately 30 manned aircraft from Finland, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, Germany, France and the United States take part in Bold Quest 19.1. In addition to the Finnish F/A-18s and PC-12NG, Rissala Air Base will host a Finnish Army NH90 helicopter, two French Air Force Rafale fighters, two Learjets operated by the German company GFD GmbH, a Cessna O-2 operated by the US company Avwatch, and a United States Air Force KC-135R Stratotanker aerial refueling aircraft.

Rovaniemi Air Base will host four Finnish Army NH90s, three Royal Danish Air Force F-16s, eight United States Marine Corps F/A-18s as well as a L-39 and a Cessna Citation CJ2 operated by the Dutch company Skyline Aviation B.V. Royal Norwegian Air Force F-16s and a French Air Force A330 MRTT aerial refueling aircraft will participate in the event from their home bases in Norway and France. Unmanned aerial vehicles taking part in the event will be operated in the training areas near Sodankylä.

Links and additional information

Bold Quest 19.1 introduction video (YouTube)

Bold Quest 19.1 Begins in May (puolustusvoimat.fi)

 

 

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