Around 150 British Army and Royal Air Force personnel joined US and Finnish counterparts in the four-day Exercise Vigilant Fox, the Ministry of Defense (MoD) said. The joint exercise comes after NATO signed an accession protocol with Finland to join the military alliance earlier this month, which began the ratification process for members. Finland and Sweden have both confirmed their intention to join NATO following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Earlier this month it emerged that the RAF had sent four Typhoons and two F-35Bs to Finland and Sweden for joint training exercises. Finland signed a mutual security assurance declaration with the UK in May and is also a member of the UK-led Joint Task Force, a 10-nation coalition. The Foreign Office said British troops based in Estonia as part of the British Army’s Project Unified Stance flew to Finland in Royal Air Force Chinook helicopters as part of the exercise. Defense Secretary James Heappey said: “Exercise Vigilant Fox demonstrated the strength and interoperability of our armed forces with our US and Finnish allies and reaffirms our commitment to the defense and security of the Baltic Sea region.” Wing Commander Stephen Boyle, the UK’s defense attaché in Helsinki, said: “Our soldiers, sailors and airmen have received a warm welcome in Finland in recent months. “Exercise Vigilant Fox is the latest activity in an ongoing series of events across the board. As Finland moves towards full NATO membership, we will continue to look for opportunities like this to show solidarity with Finland, learn from each other from each other and improve our ability to work together.” Read more: NATO expansion doesn’t reduce Vladimir Putin’s paranoia – and dictators can’t afford to lose
