Published: · Region: Europe · Category: geopolitics

Finland to Test Highway Fighter Operations in ‘Protective Fence 26’ Drill Near Kuopio

Finland will run Exercise Protective Fence 26 from 19–27 November, flying 20 F/A‑18s from dispersed sites including a highway strip near Kuopio, while French Rafales, Dutch F‑35s and German Eurofighters join to test how air forces could keep operating if main bases were hit.

Finland is preparing to fly fighter jets from a highway near Kuopio this month, turning a stretch of road into an improvised runway to see how its air force could keep operating if its main bases came under attack.

The Finnish Air Force says Exercise “Protective Fence 26” will run from 19 to 27 November. During the drill, Finland will spread 20 F/A‑18 Hornets across regular military bases, civilian airports and the Jännevirta highway strip.

The exercise is designed to test whether Finland’s air force can continue flying combat missions if fixed airfields are damaged or destroyed. Operating from a highway strip requires pilots and ground crews to manage shorter takeoff and landing distances and to set up refueling and rearming in austere conditions, while coordinating with civilian authorities that normally control the road.

Several NATO allies will participate. French Rafales, Dutch F‑35s and German Eurofighters are slated to join the drill, reflecting a push to integrate air operations across northern Europe and to practice dispersed basing concepts together.

For Finland, which shares a long border with Russia, the exercise highlights a long‑standing focus on resilience and dispersal in its defense planning. For its allies, it’s a chance to rehearse how they would support Finnish air operations if a conflict forced jets to use non‑traditional runways.

Developments to watch around Protective Fence 26 include how smoothly highway operations proceed at Jännevirta, any reported safety or logistical issues, and whether Finnish officials signal plans to expand similar highway‑strip readiness elsewhere in the country or to incorporate the concept into future F‑35 operations once those aircraft replace the Hornets.

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