Finland’s Military Adds Invaluable Capabilities to NATO

Finland has a modern, lethal military — and a history of fighting Russia.

A U.S. Soldier with 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), pulls security during a company situational training exercise part of joint training between the U.S. Army and Finnish army at Rovaniemi, Finland, Aug. 10, 2022. (U.S. Army photo by Capt. Tobias Cukale). Public domain.

Finland officially joined the NATO alliance on April 4 becoming NATO’s 31st member state.

Finland will benefit from NATO’s collective defense clause, as well as the deep intelligence sharing that takes place between alliance members. But it’s a two-way street: NATO will benefit from Finland’s experience with cold-weather operations.

Led by the United States, NATO prioritizes information dominance as the key to establishing an effective kill chain. As annoying as the recent U.S. top secret leak was, it did give the world a window into the world-class signals intelligence capabilities the U.S. has developed. Now, Finland will benefit from those capabilities more directly.

Last week, Finland took part in its first NATO exercise as an alliance member, however, the nation has been partnering with both NATO and the EU for years.

On April 14, NATO ships docked in Helsinki for the first time. Germany’s FGS Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Portugal’s frigate NRP Bartolomeu Dias remained moored in Helsinki until Sunday.

Before making port, the alliance ships participated in an exercise organized by the Finnish Coastal Fleet in the Gulf of Finland with three Finnish…