Finnish conscripts and Nato troops fight through the trees in major forest exercise

British troops were among more than 5,000 personnel who trained in Finland's Kainuu region during the first large-scale allied exercise held there since the country joined Nato.

Exercise Northern Star 26 brought together troops from Finland, France, Hungary, Italy, Poland, the UK and the US. 

The training focused on how Finnish conscripts worked with allied troops during air and land operations in forest terrain.

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US Army Chinook helicopters inserted troops into forest landing zones, while Finnish tanks and infantry advanced through the trees during simulated combat.

Italian troops also practised laying a simulated anti-vehicle mine as part of the ground training.

For many Finnish conscripts, Northern Star was the final and most demanding phase of their military service.

Brigadier General Ari Laaksonen, commander of the Kainuu Brigade, said the exercise combined Finland's national training with Nato participation.

"The exercise Northern Star is a combination of troops," he said. "It's a national exercise for the conscripts, and this time there is a strong footprint about the Allied and friends and forces."

He said troops from the UK and US had been closely involved in the planning, with Italian, French, Polish and Hungarian forces also taking part.

Conscription is a big part of the Finish defence strategy. There are only about 25,000 regulars in the Finish armed forces, but this can swell to around 280,000 during wartime thanks to the bank of reserves and trained conscripts that can be called up. 

Brig Gen Laaksonen said one of the main aims was to improve how allied light infantry worked with Finnish ground forces and aviation units.

"The allied forces are coming as a light infantry," he said. "So that one of the main objectives for us, together with the multinational battalion, is that how we combine the air land operations, because that's new element for us."

He said coordinating activity in the air had become increasingly complex.

"The coordination of air nowadays, with drones, with helos, with fixed wings, it's something that in this time you really need to understand how you manage that one," he said.

The training came three years after Finland joined Nato, bringing a long border with Russia into the alliance. 

The Kainuu region, where the training took place, forms part of the 1,340 km border. 

After decades of military non-alignment, Finland joined Nato in 2023, as a direct response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.