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Finnish Air Force (FINAF) commences Ruska 17 exercise with more than 5,000 soldiers and over 60 aircraft

Air Force
Publication date 9.10.2017 9.24 | Published in English on 9.10.2017 at 15.18
Press release

Flight activities of the Ruska 17 air operations exercise commence on Monday 9 October. In Ruska, the focus is on training Finland's air defence operations in emergency conditions. Measured by the number of participating forces, Ruska is the largest FINAF exercise in 2017. Key training themes include utilisation of the air-to-surface weapons of Hornet multirole fighters as part of the Defence Forces’ combat activities.

Hornet-monitoimihävittäjä ilmasta maahan -aseistuksella varustettuna

Over 60 aircraft, including approximately 30 F/A-18 multi-role fighters take part in Ruska 17. Photo: Jaakko-Ala Hiiro / Finnish AIr Force

 

More than 60 aircraft and around 5,100 personnel of the Finnish and Swedish Defence Forces participate in Ruska 17. Nine military aerodromes are used in the exercise, and the flight activities encompass the entire country.

Extensive preparations for Ruska 17 already began in week 40, when aircraft of the Finnish and Swedish Air Forces, training flight activities in the course of the Baana 17 exercise, operated out of a road base set up on main road no. 88 in the North Savonian locality of Vieremä. Most of the forces participating in Ruska 17, including some 2,900 reservists, were equipped during the rest of the week and the weekend. Furthermore, the military aerodromes used temporarily in the exercise were established, and the participating aircraft were deployed to them according to plan. The flight activities and other training activities of Ruska will continue until Friday 13 October 2017.

 

Lieutenant Colonel Ville Hakala from Air Force Command Finland (AFCOMFIN), the Ruska exercise focuses on training air defence operations as a whole in emergency conditions. How significant is the role of air defence in modern warfare, and what are the threats that modern air defence prepares to counter?

In modern warfare, the importance of air defence is decisive. War cannot be waged successfully without an air defence consisting of well-trained and properly equipped forces. While FINAF is responsible for Finland's air defence and management of air operations, all the Services of our Defence Forces have a part to play in air defence. Air operations are incorporated into the Defence Forces’ battle. A well-functioning logistics system contributes to the success of air operations.

Modern air defence prepares for a multitude of different threats, and there really is no single threat element that could be highlighted as more critical than others. Simply put, air defence is tasked with countering enemies invading Finland in the air.

Suojausjoukkuen taistelijat saattavat Hornet-ohjaajaa

Ruska 17 features training of all functions of war time air bases. Photo: Joni Malkamäki / Finnish AIr Force

 

Ruska 17 involves a diverse range of forces focusing on different tasks such as fighter missions, ground-based air defence duties and air base operations. What are the roles of different capabilities in this training and modern air warfare in general?

Modern air warfare is extremely complicated. The operating environment is complex, and operations need to be planned with consideration to the different missions to be carried out and actors involved in them. Take, for example, fast multipurpose fighters that move flexibly from one mission to another and ground-based air defence units that protect vital locations and areas over longer terms. Both of them are elements of air defence, and they complement each other in what they do. What also needs to be trained is the integrated operation of different capabilities.

 

Ilmatorjuntaohjusjärjestelmä ITO90M tuliasemassa

Ground-based air defence units taking part in Ruska 17 include ITO90M Surface-to-Air missile systems. Photo: Joni Malkamäki / Finnish AIr Force

 

The Ruska exercise takes place annually. This autumn there has been a lot of activity in international military exercises in Finland’s neighbouring areas. Does this affect this year's exercise somehow?

No, it doesn't. The execution and timing of Ruska 17 were already decided upon more than a year ago, at which time exercise planning was also commenced.


One of the objectives of Ruska is to train FINAF personnel, conscripts and reservists in tasks relating to the use and handling of the air-to-surface weapons of Hornet multi-role fighters. With the MLU 2 life-cycle upgrade completed late in 2016, FINAF Hornet multirole fighters achieved the capability of using long-range precision-guided air-to-surface weapons. What does the introduction of this capability mean for FINAF and the Finnish Defence Forces?

For air defence, the air-to-surface capability adds an offensive element that the enemy has to take into consideration in its operations. For the effectiveness of the Defence Forces, it adds an efficient long-range element that can be applied quickly.

 

Ohjattavaa JDAM-pommia asennetaan Hornetin siipiripustimeen

Use and handling of air-to-ground weapons of the F/A-18s is one of the training objectives of Ruska 17. Photo: Ville Tuokko / Finnish Air Force

 

A lot of reservists have been summoned to Ruska to serve in different air defence tasks. What kind of exercise can they expect?

Reservists are an important and integral part of air defence. They can expect an exercise that surely entails a lot of work, diverse content and at times hard effort as well but that is also highly interesting for them. In the exercise, reservists take part in many different training activities covering different areas of air defence, and this training supports them in carrying out their tasks in emergency conditions. I hope that Ruska 17 plays a part in motivating reservists to build up their competencies in these tasks.

AMRAAM-ilmataisteluohjusten käsittelyä

In total, 2,900 reservists take part in Ruska 17. Many of them serve with aircraft maintenance units. Photo: Joni Malkamäki / Finnish Air Force

 

The Swedish Air Force also participates in Ruska with Gripen multirole fighters along with an Argus airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft. What role do the Swedish forces have in the exercise?

The presence of Swedish flight detachments in Ruska is part of the deepening bilateral cooperation between the Finnish and Swedish Air Forces. The two Air Forces participated in each other's main tactical field exercise for the first time in 2016 in the role of opposing forces. In this year's September, FINAF Hornets were present in Sweden's Aurora 17 exercise, also as part of the forces carrying out air defence tasks.

In Ruska 17, a flight of four Gripen multirole fighters of the Swedish Air Force have been positioned at Rissala Air Base from where they take part in air operations together with Finnish Hornets. Another such flight operates out of Kallax Air Base in the role of opposing forces together with Finnish flight detachments in the same role. The Argus aircraft with its capabilities provides wide-ranging support to realistic air defence training.

Ruotsin ilmavoimien Gripen-monitoimihävittäjä lentoonlähdössä

Swedish Air Force takes part in Ruska in air defence and opposing force roles. Photo: Joni Malkamäki / Finnish Air Force

 

Lue lisää Ruska 17 -harjoituksesta

 

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