The artillery exercise, held in temperatures of -15C in Finnish Lapland, was a “culture shock” for the British military, Major David Mortimer, deputy commander of the British 19th Artillery Regiment said.
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“It was a real culture shock for many of our military personnel to be here in such difficult conditions,” he said.
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The exercises were reportedly carried out in “extreme” Arctic conditions, with temperatures dropping to minus 15 degrees.
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During the exercise, British units deployed the Swedish 155mm Archer self-propelled artillery mount for the first time and used newly acquired Taipan counter-battery radar systems.
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NATO artillery exercise Lightning Strike 24 began in Finnish Lapland on November 4 and will continue until November 28. About 3.6 thousand military personnel take part in them, including military personnel from the USA, Great Britain, Sweden, Estonia, France, the Czech Republic and other countries. The largest training ground in Northern Europe, Rovajärvi in Lapland, was chosen as the location for the exercise.
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The exercise is part of NATO artillery exercise Dynamic Front 25, the largest ever held in Europe. In total, about five thousand military personnel from 28 different countries are involved in the Dynamic Front 25 exercise. In addition to Finland, training events will take place in Estonia, Germany, Romania and Poland, the Finnish ground forces previously reported.
