British soldiers have joined NATO allies in a major military exercise in Finland, helping to strengthen the Alliance’s collective defence capabilities just 43 miles from the Russian border.
Troops from the 3rd Battalion, The Rifles (3 Rifles) have deployed alongside Finland’s Kainuu Brigade for Exercise Northern Star, a large-scale training operation designed to enhance cooperation between NATO partners and prepare forces for operations in challenging northern environments.
The exercise follows the winter deployment known as Exercise Northern Axe, which involved around 4,500 soldiers from NATO nations including France, Hungary and the United States.
For Britain’s soldiers, the deployment represents an important opportunity to deepen military ties with one of NATO’s newest members. Finland joined the Alliance in 2023, bringing with it extensive expertise in territorial defence and operations in Arctic and sub-Arctic conditions.
Training in the Finnish wilderness, characterised by vast forests, rugged terrain and thousands of lakes, also allows British troops to develop skills that could prove vital in future operations.
Lieutenant Colonel Tom Redon, Commanding Officer of 3 Rifles, said:
“It’s a strategically important location for NATO and it gives us the chance to train and develop our tactics in challenging environments.
The Finns are serious about defence, and learning from each other we can work better together. What we are looking at doing is to increase our lethality to kill the enemy further away and quicker.”
Photographs from the exercise show British and Finnish personnel operating together in woodland terrain, supported by military vehicles, specialist equipment and working dogs.
New Technology Proving a Gamechanger
Exercise Northern Star is not only focused on traditional battlefield skills. It is also providing an opportunity for British forces to test and integrate cutting-edge technologies designed to improve battlefield awareness, decision-making and combat effectiveness.
3 Rifles forms part of 11th Brigade, one of the British Army’s drone-equipped formations specialising in uncrewed aerial systems operating at low and mid-level altitudes. The brigade is tasked with using advanced technology to intercept, engage and deceive enemy forces.
Reflecting this evolving role, 3 Rifles has recently been redesignated as one of the Army’s new Near Surface Infantry Battalions.
A key element of the exercise has been the deployment of the autonomous uncrewed aircraft system known as “Ghost”. Designed for medium-range reconnaissance and surveillance, the system provides frontline troops with real-time intelligence, target detection and communications support.
Data gathered by Ghost, which resembles a small helicopter, is transmitted back to a remote command post. Once a target has been identified, information can then be passed to “Bolt”, a one-way effector drone carrying onboard munitions. Bolt is designed to strike designated targets directly.
Exercise Northern Star has given the battalion an ideal environment to test the integration of these systems, allowing sensors and effectors to operate at range while being controlled remotely.
Major Steve Watts, Exercise Conducting Officer for 3 Rifles, said:
“With ‘Ghost’ and ‘Bolt,’ you can make a decision faster and you can kill things further away. What that does is it increases our lethality, it also increases our survivability, because you haven’t got to be there to kill something, you can send a sensor forward, and that’s really critical as we look to the future.”
The exercise has also seen soldiers equipped with ATAK (Android Tactical Assault Kit), commonly known as the TAC system. Using GPS-enabled technology, troops can track friendly forces, monitor activity around them and receive information on enemy positions in real time.
Major Watts explained how the networked system improves battlefield awareness:
“We’re using a ‘lattice’ network, which means everything is joined together. So, the people on the ground that have a TAC on their chest can see what the drone is seeing. It can show that an enemy aircraft has entered your area. It can give instant situational awareness, and that’s all key, because once you join together like that, you can pass information, and therefore you can become more lethal.”
As NATO continues to adapt to an evolving security environment, exercises such as Northern Star demonstrate the growing cooperation between Allied nations and the British Army’s commitment to integrating advanced technology with frontline combat capability.
For the soldiers of 3 Rifles, training alongside Finnish forces on NATO’s northern flank offers valuable experience, strengthens military partnerships and reinforces the collective readiness of the Alliance.
Images: MOD Crown Copyright News / Editorial Licence.
