Finland joins 1st NATO exercise as alliance member

By Nur Asena Erturk

ANKARA (AA) – Finland completed its first NATO exercise as an alliance member, the Finnish Navy announced on Thursday.

"Two frigates deployed with Standing NATO Maritime Group 1 (SNMG1) visit Helsinki from 13th to 16th April 2023. Before arrival they participated in an exercise organized by the Coastal Fleet," read a statement by the Finnish Navy.

On their way to Helsinki, German frigate FGS Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Portuguese frigate NRP Bartolomeu Dias exercised together with the Finnish Coastal Fleet’s vessels in the Gulf of Finland on Wednesday, it further said.

"This was the first time for Finland and for Coastal Fleet to conduct an exercise and a visit as Finland being an Ally of NATO," the statement noted.

"The PASSEX (Passing exercise) developed interoperability between the participating vessels in producing situation picture and in navigation," it added.

As part of NATO's open-door policy and enlargement, Finland became the 31st member of the alliance on April 4.