NATO air exercise brings over 50 foreign military aircraft to Finland

A major NATO air exercise begins in Finland on Monday, with more than 50 foreign military aircraft and around 1,300 troops deploying across the country as part of the two-week Ramstein Flag 26 drill, state broadcaster Yle reports.

The exercise, co-hosted by Finland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Spain, involves 18 NATO member states and over 200 aircraft operating across an area stretching from northern Europe to Spain. Finnish Air Force units will participate in training for mobile combat operations alongside allied forces.

Foreign aircraft will be stationed at multiple Finnish bases, including Rovaniemi, where German and US fighter jets—along with Spanish planes—will operate. The US Marine Corps will deploy F-35B Lightning II stealth fighters, capable of short takeoffs and vertical landings, unlike Finland’s F-35A variant. Only the US, UK, and Italy field the B-model within NATO.

In Tervo, eastern Finland, a reserve landing site on regional road 551 will be used for drills, disrupting traffic between Karttula and Tervo from June 7–14, though local residents will retain access. The Finnish Air Force has not confirmed which nations will train at the site.

Jyväskylä’s Air Warfare School will host Spanish and Polish fighter jets and training aircraft, while Pirkkala Air Base will support US F-35As and NATO’s unmanned RQ-4D Phoenix surveillance drones.