Nordic nations agree joint air defence plan to counter Russian threat
The air forces of Sweden, Norway, Finland and Denmark have agreed on a goal to create a unified Nordic air defence aimed at countering the rising threat from Russia.Air force commanders of the four Nordic nations signed a declaration of intent to operate their fighter jets as one fleet, based on already known ways of operating under Nato, according to statements by the four countries’ armed forces.
Denmark’s air force said:
The cooperation will encompass integrated command and control, operational planning and execution, flexible deployment of forces, joint airspace surveillance and training.The ultimate goal is to be able to operate seamlessly together as one force by developing a Nordic concept for joint air operations based on already known Nato methodology.
Commander of the Danish air force, Major General Jan Dam, told Reuters:
Norway has 57 F-16 fighter jets and 37 F-35 fighter jets with 15 more of the latter on order. Finland has 62 F/A-18 Hornet jets and 64 F-35s on order, while Denmark has 58 F-16s and 27 F-35s on order. Sweden has more than 90 Gripens jets. It was unclear how many of those planes were operational.Our combined fleet can be compared to a large European country.
Russia-Ukraine war: UN reports dozens of summary executions of PoWs; Nordic nations agree joint air defence plan – as it happened
Mission says it documented some 40 summary executions in 13 months; Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland agree plan to counter Russian threat
www.theguardian.com