Finland has around twelve stretches of road designated as reserve airports, writes Reuters. Now the country has closed a section of the highway in Joutsa so that it can be used as an airport for five days. The stretch of road in Joutsa has not been closed for military purposes for several decades. The reason is that it is on the main road between the capital Helsinki and the northern part of the country. A fighter jet comes in for landing on the highway in Joutsa. Photo: JANIS LAIZANS / Reuters Ready in a few days Despite the fact that it is the first time in a long time, the Finnish Air Force spent a few days preparing the road so that it can be used as a runway. – As long as the road itself is in good condition, we can put it into use within a couple of days, says head of the Finnish air force, Colonel Vesa Mantyla. Around 200 people will participate in the exercise in which Finnish fighters of the type F/A-18 Hornet, older training aircraft of the Hawk MK 51 and other aircraft will take part. Finland currently has 62 Hornet aircraft. They are scheduled to be replaced this decade. Locals gathered along the road to watch the planes practice landing and take-off on the two kilometer stretch of road. Locals in Joutsa have lined up to watch an F/A-18 Hornet practice landing and taking off. Photo: JANIS LAIZANS / Reuters To protect against rocket attacks, Finland trains every year to use the reserve airfields. They have been created so that it will be more difficult to destroy the airports where the planes are stationed. – The threat and actions of Russia with cruise missiles and ballistic missiles in Ukraine show that the concept of spreading the forces is correct, says Mantela. Finland applied this spring to be admitted to NATO and is now waiting for all the member states to ratify the membership. – No threat to Finland Finland has started extra monitoring after the explosions in gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea on Monday. It write Yle. The pipelines pass close to Finland. – Finland has no information about any suspicious activities around the gas pipeline where it approaches and passes by Finland, says Finnish Defense Minister Antti Kaikkonen. He adds that it is difficult to monitor as the pipeline runs on the seabed. At the same time, Kaikkonen says that the explosions do not represent any threat to Finland. Considering border fence with Russia The Finnish Minister of the Interior Krista Mekkonen says that the country must discuss whether a border fence should be built with Russia. – In that case, the fence will be built at the parts of the border that are relatively easy to cross, but difficult to guard, in practice, for example, near old roads, Mikkonen tells broadcaster Yle. The backdrop is the increasing traffic across the eastern border with partial mobilization last week, and a concern about uncontrolled immigration from Russia. If Russia prevents men of military age from leaving the country, it is feared that attempts to cross the border illegally at less monitored border crossings will increase.
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Finland closes highway to train fighter jets – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
