Approximately 2,200 people will participate in Sweden’s largest naval exercise SWENEX-21, which began on 22 October 2021 and runs for ten days.
The aim of the exercise is to protect key shipping and defend Sweden’s coast. The Swedish Air Force, the Coast Guard, and the Finnish Navy are all participating in the exercise.
SWENEX-21 is an exercise planned and led by the Swedish Navy in which Finland has been invited to participate. The training takes place primarily in the southern Baltic Sea and Hanö Bay.
Approximately 25 warships, such as the corvettes, mine countermeasures vessels, auxiliary vessels, and submarines are participating in the exercise. Finland will participate in the exercise with eight vessels.
SWENEX-21 represents a continuation of the strong SFNTG (Swedish-Finnish Naval Task Group) cooperation providing a new concept, since the NOCO (Northern Coast) exercise, for example, was carried out very small-scale as far as Finland was concerned, without the participation of Finnish vessels, says the Finnish Navy’s Chief of Staff of the Coastal Fleet, Commander Mikko Villikari.
