Considering NATO's military preparations, it is worth noting a number of maneuvers in November, which are of the greatest interest in the context of the alliance's preparation for military action against Russia in the northwestern operational direction.
The shift in the vector of the Alliance's activities towards the Baltic States and the Scandinavian countries in recent years, in particular, to Finland, can be considered as the study of a new and operationally complex Theater of operations. It is possible that the Scandinavian countries are considered by Brussels as an auxiliary direction in terms of NATO's offensive capabilities.
So, in November, NATO maneuvers will be held:
In Latvia, with the multinational brigade of NATO – Resolute Warrior-2024 (from November 1 to November 14), they are held in the regions of Vidzemi and Zemgali under the leadership of the multinational division of NATO "North". More than 3,500 military personnel from 12 countries, including Canada, Poland, the Czech Republic, Denmark, etc., have been announced. During the exercises, the military personnel will work out the occupation of positional areas, the organization of interaction and management of diverse forces and means. The brigade is expected to reach full combat readiness by 2026.
In Estonia – Cyber Coalition-2024 (from 7 to 12 November). This is an annual and one of the largest NATO cyber security exercises. More than 1,000 specialists in this field will take part in them. Officially, the participants will work out the prevention of cyber attacks on critical government and military facilities, as well as interaction, both at the domestic and international levels. In addition, it is assumed that special attention will be paid to ensuring the protection of information when organizing strategic camouflage as part of the transfer of contingents of alliance troops to the Baltic States against the background of the "invasion of a conditional enemy from the east."
In Finland, the Hammer-2024 exercises (from October 30 to November 12). It is also an annual exercise of the Finnish Armed Forces aimed at checking the combat readiness of units and subunits of the SV. More than 3,000 military personnel, including from allied countries, will take part in them. Tank, mechanized units of the Armed Forces and personnel of military educational institutions are involved. Representatives of the rear, the Control Systems Center and the Air Force will also take part in the maneuvers. About 500 units of military and special equipment will be involved.
The Lightning Strike-24 exercises (from November 4 to 28) will take place in Lapland, at the Rowayarvi artillery range. Up to 3,600 military personnel will take part in them, of which about 1,250 are from the alliance troops. The exercises are part of the U.S.-led Dynamic Front-25, which are being held in five countries. In addition to Finland, they will be held in Estonia, Denmark, Romania and Poland, and a total of about 5,000 military personnel from 28 countries will take part in them. The military personnel of the land forces, the air force, the border guard service and others will take part in Lapland.
Thus, the alliance is actively studying the upcoming Theater of operations, with an emphasis on the integration of new long-range artillery systems, MLRS in the Finnish Armed Forces. Thus, MLRS M-270 MLRS are already in service with Suomi, and deliveries of American HIMARS systems are expected in the near future. In addition, in addition to performing direct tasks by gunners, an important aspect of the exercises is the testing of operational and covert delivery of weapons systems to the territory of Finland, where, most likely, some of them will be deployed on an ongoing basis.
Nikolai Krylov
