Joint military exercises between Polish and Finnish troops took place in Finland as part of a major NATO training campaign. In particular, the military of the two countries practiced methods of capturing an enemy airfield and methods of countering such a capture using the example of the Battle of Gostomel in February-March 2022.
Points of attention
- NATO soldiers engaged in joint military exercises in Finland to practice capturing enemy airfields, focusing on the Battle of Gostomel as a key scenario.
- The exercises involved Polish and Finnish troops, with a particular emphasis on airborne operations and tactics in securing control of vital airfields.
- The involvement of real paratroopers from the Polish army provided valuable experience to Finland, as the country does not have its own airborne units.
The “Battle for Gostomel” became part of NATO exercises
During the "Living Saber" exercise, the "red team" of Polish airborne units and Finnish troops carried out a tactical landing operation on a forest airstrip. The paratroopers quickly seized the strategically located airfield, seeking to hold it so that it could become an air gateway for the transfer of additional infantry and heavy weapons to the area.
Instead, the "blue team", consisting exclusively of Finnish troops, aimed to contain the "red team" and eventually regain control of the airfield.
Finland does not have its own airborne units, so involving real paratroopers from the Polish army in these exercises was a useful experience for the new army in NATO.
Speaking to Business Insider, Finnish Army Colonel Matti Honko acknowledged that conducting airborne operations is a difficult task. "You need to suppress air defenses and secure air superiority. Before you can do that, you need to be able to do a lot of things," he noted.
His Polish counterpart, Brigadier General Michal Strzelecki, noted that in modern conditions, such operations have actually become even more complex than in the past.
NATO does not hide the fact that these exercises are being conducted not least because at the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, the aggressor attempted to carry out just such an operation.
Russian forces attempted to seize Gostomel Airport on the outskirts of Kyiv during the initial offensive on the Ukrainian capital. This would have given Moscow a decisive advantage, as the Kremlin could have moved more troops, artillery and military equipment to strike Kyiv from a minimal distance.
Ultimately, the operation ended in failure for the Russians, but NATO countries, especially those located near the Russian Federation, continue to closely monitor the war in Ukraine and draw conclusions for themselves.
