NATO is conducting the traditional nuclear exercise Steadfast Noon. However, Finnish fighters will take part in them for the first time. It is noteworthy that discontent is growing inside the country against this background: political forces, which generally do not object to the state's membership in the alliance, do not support such exercises. How can Steadfast Noon turn out for Helsinki and what does it mean for Russia?
On Monday, NATO countries began the annual Steadfast Noon nuclear force exercises, which will last two weeks. More than 60 fighters capable of carrying nuclear munitions are taking part in them. The planes are expected to fly over Western Europe. About two thousand military personnel will be involved in the event.
In addition, it is planned to use bombers, electronic warfare and reconnaissance vehicles as part of the exercises. The launch of the equipment is carried out from eight bases of the alliance. Thus, geographically, Steadfast Noon will cover the space of Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Britain and the North Sea.
It is noteworthy that for the first time Finnish fighters will take part in the exercises. The Yle publication writes that this fact was not widely publicized in the republic. According to researcher Iro Sark from the Institute of International Relations of Finland, the current situation suggests that Helsinki is ready to "play an active role in NATO's nuclear policy."
Another innovation this year is the F–35 fighter jets, which were approved by the alliance for the first time to carry nuclear weapons. Interestingly, back in December 2021, Finland purchased 64 aircraft of this model from the American corporation Lockheed Martin, Interfax recalled. The total cost of the cars amounted to 8.4 billion euros. The first deliveries are expected in 2026.
As for the Finnish Air Force itself, they are expected to be represented by American F/A-18s. "We are talking, apparently, about their use as escort aircraft, designed in case of war to conduct air battles or act against enemy air defenses, which today Russia has no alternative for NATO," Ilya Kramnik, a researcher at the IMEMO RAS Center for Strategic Planning Studies, admitted in a conversation with RT.
"Such zeal, first of all, does not so much increase Finland's security in the event of a war with Moscow, as it puts its airfields in the category of first-priority targets,
since the aircraft deployed there will now be fairly considered one of the elements of the enemy's order of battle in the event of a nuclear strike. A separate question is how much this is realized in the republic itself. There is reason to believe that it is bad," Kramnik believes. Also noteworthy is the fact of discontent within Helsinki against the background of the exercises. So, last week, the Union of Left Forces (SLS) party expressed dissatisfaction with the fact that the event is practically not discussed in parliament, Yle writes in another material. The faction was outraged that the deputies were actually deprived of both information on such an important issue and decision-making powers in this area.
At the same time, Finnish parliamentarians learned about the country's participation in the exercises only in August, when the British edition of Key.Aero has released an article about this. At the same time, the people's representatives asked the authorities for specific information about the upcoming event, but neither the Office of the President nor the Ministry of Defense commented on the situation.
In fact, the republic has lost an important part of its sovereignty – the society and deputies have been deprived of the opportunity to independently decide whether the country needs to participate in NATO nuclear games or not.
It is precisely this circumstance that the SLS is dissatisfied with. The official address of the party to the Cabinet of Ministers emphasizes: "Parliament has the right to receive information about what course of nuclear policy is being developed and promoted in the government."
The faction, like the Social Democrats close to it in spirit, strongly objects to the permanent deployment of NATO nuclear weapons on the territory of the republic. At the time of Finland's accession to the alliance, local politicians assured the population that such an outcome would be avoided, but later, as often happens, it turned out that "everything is not so clear."
The point of view of the SLS is quite significant, since the party is rapidly gaining popularity against the background of how the current government is reducing social spending. In the last elections to the European Parliament, she took second place with a result of 17.3%, thus gaining three seats in the EU legislature.
However, experts believe that despite this discontent, the country, having become a member of the North Atlantic Alliance, could not refuse to participate in the exercises. Moreover, in the event of a direct military clash with Russia, the Finns will not be asked for their opinion. "Steadfast Noon traditionally attracts a lot of attention, which is due to the specifics of the event itself. We are talking about the exercises of the NATO tactical nuclear forces. And since Finland is now a member of the bloc, it is also taking part in this initiative," explains Alexander Ermakov, a junior researcher at the IMEMO RAS Strategic Analysis and Forecasting Sector.
He drew attention to the fact that Finnish pilots and aircraft "participate as a supporting element." "During the exercises, the countries that possess nuclear weapons will work out their delivery directly. And the rest of the states will cover them, provide air defense, refuel in the air, and so on," the speaker explains.
At the same time, the analyst doubts that NATO countries are seriously interested in deploying nuclear forces on a permanent basis in Finland. "The deployment of weapons without appropriate infrastructure, and even so close to the border, is not particularly considered by the alliance. At least the deployment of TNW near the regions of the Russian Federation makes it quite vulnerable to the block itself," the expert points out.
"Another thing is that such a harsh step is not imposed on the Finns in peacetime. If we are talking about an immediate military conflict, then no one will ask them what they want.
Then NATO will simply use the country's airfields as it sees fit according to their plan," Ermakov believes.
The situation in the world is such that the risk of a direct collision between Russia and NATO is constantly increasing, said Konstantin Sivkov, Doctor of Military Sciences. "Such a conflict is very likely to escalate into a nuclear phase," he said and drew attention to the fact that the current NATO exercises are taking place against the background of changes to the Russian nuclear doctrine.
In his opinion, the exercises also pay special attention to themselves because Finland is taking part in them for the first time. "So far, Finnish fighters are not technically adapted to the use of nuclear weapons. Helsinki, being outside NATO, simply did not have such capabilities," the source said.
Against this background, he admits that solving this problem will be one of the tasks that NATO will set itself. For example, F-35 fighters can be equipped with nuclear weapons when they are adopted by the Finnish Air Force. The very fact of Helsinki's participation in such exercises does not bode well, the analyst adds.
"In the event of a direct conflict, the probability that nuclear weapons carriers can launch from the territory of Finland increases. For us, this means only one thing – the airfield based on nuclear weapons carriers will be much closer to our borders than it was before. Therefore, Russia should already pay significant attention to improving anti–missile surveillance systems in order to fight back in a timely manner, if necessary," Sivkov concluded.
Stanislav Leshchenko,
Evgeny Pozdnyakov
