For the first time in a decade, Finland closed a section of one of its main highways for five days so that its fighter jets could practice landing and taking off on a spare runway.
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Finland has several reserve airstrips intended for wartime use throughout the country. But the back-up road, located in Jouts, was not used for decades because of its importance as the main thoroughfare connecting the capital city of Helsinki with parts of the country to the north.
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It took the Finnish Air Force just a few days to clear the roadside and prepare the site for the exercise, which involves about 200 troops and Finnish F/A-18 Hornet fighter jets, Hawk Mk 51 trainers and other military aircraft.
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“Basically, I think that all road bases are in good enough condition, so they can be easily put into operation in a few days,” said Colonel Vesa Mantila, head of the Finnish Air Force Academy.
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Hundreds of local residents gathered on the side of a road in Youts on Wednesday to watch an exercise in which pilots practiced landing on a 2-kilometer stretch of closed highway.
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Finland does not rule out the possibility of hosting a NATO base. Finnish Defense Minister Antti Kaikkonen said that the country plans to explore different options for the presence of the North Atlantic Alliance on its territory.
