RAF Typhoons land and take off from remote road in Finland for first time
RAF Typhoon fighter jets have landed and taken off from a regular road for the first time – demonstrating how the air force can respond rapidly to attack even in the most remote locations and with minimal support crews.
Two of the RAF's front-line jets took off from a single-lane road in Tervo, Finland, which is normally used by normal road traffic but specially designed as an emergency landing strip to sustain aircraft activity if needed.
The RAF and its allies are carrying out such exercises in response to Russian aggression in Eastern Europe, so that they can ensure they are able to disperse aircraft and be more unpredictable.
The air force is focussing on ways to outmanoeuvre an adversary under the Agile Combat Employment concept which tests pilots' flexibility and adaptability to survive an attack, disperse to remote locations and continue operating with minimal support.
The RAF jets tested and proved their capability in Finland as part of Exercise Baana, an annual training exercise carried out by the Finnish Air Force.
One pilot taking part in the exercise, the Officer Commanding of 41 Test and Evaluation Squadron, said: "This is an opportunity to work with one of our newest NATO partners on an exercise in Agile Combat Employment.
"The Finnish have worked hard for decades on disparate operations should they be attacked and need to disperse their aircraft.
"Once we landed on the strip we stopped to refuel before taking off again, I couldn’t help but look around and think ‘I am sitting in a jet on a road in the middle of a forest in Finland’. That was pretty crazy and definitely a first."
A small number of RAF personnel were on the ground to refuel and maintain the aircraft to ensure they could continue operating.
A second pilot, Jim, said: "This is a great step forward for RAF Typhoon capability. We often talk about capability being the stuff that we fly with, such as weapons and sensors.
"What is great about this is, it is a novel way of employing the jet, improving our survivability against modern threats and operating from dispersed locations, and also doing that while working closely with our allies who are absolutely critical to future operations."
The RAF used to operate from unusual locations such as roads and fields during the Cold War, in order to make its aircraft harder for the enemy to find.
This is the first time the RAF has taken part in the exercise, which is now part of the Finnish Air Force's routine flying training.
The Norwegian Air Force, also taking part for the first time, tested their F-35A Lightning aircraft, a 5th generation fighter jet also operated by the UK and 15 other allied countries.
The RAF Typhoons were operating out of Rissala Air Base and Tervo Road Base for these trials.
It provides the opportunity to expand the combat air knowledge and practices of using Emergency Landing Strips and dispersed operations.
The UK and Finland enjoy a close defence relationship as NATO and Joint Expeditionary Force allies, and often train and deploy together on exercises around the world. Finnish troops also work side-by-side with the British Armed Forces to train Ukrainian recruits in the UK.
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