Inside Finland’s first NATO mission with UK forces in show of strength to Putin

CONSTANTA, ROMANIA – At the end of a runway in the remote Romanian countryside, a white light glows.

This is the readiness signal of a British Typhoon jet, poised to take to the skies as part of a Nato air policing mission followed closely by a Finnish F/A-18 Hornet.

Engines roar into action and the first of the planes race down the runway, lifting off almost vertically and hurtling into the skies.

i has been invited to witness the joint mission involving some of the world’s most advanced jets. Policing of the skies is a permanent peacetime task to safeguard the airspace of member countries – but this one is not only a show of solidarity and shared responsibility, but a significant moment in Nato’s history – and a chance to send a message to Putin.

For the first time since joining the alliance last year, Finland – which borders Russia – is joining the air defence mission, in partnership with the Royal Air Force.

The decision to join the alliance was a momentous step for the Finland, ending decades of political neutrality, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

But it was momentous for Nato too, doubling the size of the alliance’s border with Russia, and bringing the two face-to-face along more than 800 miles of land.

The Kremlin saw the expansion as a direct threat and warned of “military-technical” measures in retaliation.

Wing Commander Karl Bird is leading British personnel in Romania’s air defence missions (Photo: Molly Blackall/i)

An air policing mission over Mihail Kogălniceanu Air Base (Photo: Michael Linennen/Nato)

The weight of the Russian threat is also felt acutely in Romania, which shares a border with Ukraine and faces off against Russia over the Black Sea.

Since the start of the war, fragments of Russian drones have repeatedly fallen on its territory, while more than 80,000 Ukrainians have sought refuge within its borders.

At Mihail Kogălniceanu Air Base, close to the coastal city of Constanta, six RAF typhoons and more than 200 British personnel have been carrying out drills responding to threats to Nato’s airspace.

“Since the invasion [of Ukraine] in 2022, the political and geopolitical landscape has changed,” says Wing Commander Karl Bird, leading the British forces on the base.

“I think everyone sees on the news what’s happening in Ukraine, and we are very close to Ukraine here. You can sit on the Black Sea coast and 60km away is Snake Island [a Ukrainian island that has seen heavy fighting in the war].

“I think that’s a different focus that the Romanian people have which the British haven’t: it is an existential threat on their doorstep, they share a border with Ukraine.

“I think there’s probably never been a more important time to be collective in our defence.”

Nato jets routinely police the airspace of member countries, including flying over the eastern flank of the Black Sea coast, close to the alliance’s border with Russia.

But they have also increased their presence in eastern Europe since the Russian invasion, with the alliance’s Air Shielding mission placing more fighter jets and ground-based air defence units in their eastern member states.

The flights are, Wing Commander Richard Leask admits, gruelling.

“It is quite an arduous task flying a Typhoon. You fly at 9G, so nine times the force of gravity,” he says. “Especially in the warm weather we’re experiencing at the moment, it can be quite fatiguing, so we absolutely take our fitness and strength in particular seriously.”

Wing Commander Richard Leask at Mihail Kogălniceanu air base in Romania (Photo: Molly Blackall/i)

A fighter jet soars into the sky over the base (Photo: Michael Linennen/Nato)

Pilots wake at around 6am, have a cooked breakfast or cereal, and then head out to train. There is a physiotherapist and a physical training instructor present to keep them fit enough to cope with the G force.

Every other week they are on Quick Reaction Alert, or QRA, meaning their jets are on standby and ready to launch. During these QRA weeks, pilots and engineers live on a designated compound close to their jets, allowing them to be airborne just minutes after being alerted to a real or simulated threat.

“It’s key that we have a baseline knowledge of training and understanding of how we’re going to defend the airspace if we ever have to do so,” Wing Commander Leask says.

“It’s a show of strength, a show of unity across Nato, that we can work together and we can train together and effectively defend the airspace together as an alliance, if we were called upon to do so.”

Air defence missions have been stepped up in eastern Europe since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. (Photo: Michael Linennen/Nato)

A Finnish jet prepares for takeoff (Photo: Michael Linennen/Nato)

Edward R Arnold, senior research fellow at defence think tank Rusi, describes the missions as integral to monitoring Russian intent and movements across the alliance’s border.

“They provide excellent opportunities for Nato air forces to ‘train as they fight’ together and allow nations to burden-share, lightening the load on individual national capabilities and aircrews,” he says.

“Finland is incredibly important to air policing as their border neighbours the Kola Peninsula – the location of Russian strategic nuclear forces and Northern Sea Fleet, as such, it is a focal point of Russian military activity.

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“Moreover, Finland’s participation in Nato missions over its territory is an important lever for Alliance deterrence – showing the Russian’s that Nato is prepared to exercise right up to its border.”

While Finland had already largely integrated with Nato systems through its participation in several missions as an official partner, the new engagement in air policing marked the Nordic nation’s first-ever major contribution to Nato’s collective peacetime missions.

There were some “minor issues” with communication early on, admits Lieutenant Colonel Rami Lindstrom, the Finnish Air Force detachment commander, although he says they have since been ironed out.

“The Brits have been especially helpful,” he says. “It’s awesome that we have them.

“The UK is a strong player and they have experience around the globe. Their knowledge and experience… it’s priceless what they’re able to share.”