(20 Nov 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Rovajärvi, Finland – 20 November 2024
1. Sweden-made Archer artillery system driving
2. Various of soldiers loading munition
3. Archer artillery system driving to firing position
4. Archer artillery system aiming
5. Various of Archer artillery system firing
6. Various of Archer artillery system leaving firing position
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Rovaniemi, Finland – 20 November 2024
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Major General John Rafferty, Commanding General of the U.S. 56th Artillery Command:
"The message we’re standing, I think, upfront is that when we train together, we’re much stronger together. We’re here to reassure our partners and allies that we can deploy to tough and demanding environments, train in any conditions, organise ourselves as allies and partners in multiple configurations."
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Rovajärvi, Finland – 20 November 2024
8. M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) driving
9. Officer instructing the MLRS driver
10. Pan of MLRS turning
11. Soldier on top of the MLRS
12. MLRS taking aim
13. Close of MLRS
14. SOUNDBITE (English) Capt. Alexander Siren, Finnish liaison officer for the UK artillery unit:
"Just the little details, how we survive in winter, how do we operate in winter, how our guns are working in winter conditions, what kind of area northern Finland is, how are the roads, everything, starting from little detail. So our allied nations, they get a lot from this, just how they can operate in here."
15. French-made CAESAR self-propelled howitzer
16. French soldier closing the bag
17. Focus pull of French soldier to MLRS
18. SOUNDBITE (French) Sgt. Dillan (last name not given), French gun commander:
"It’s true that with the cold, we’re also trying to better understand ourselves and push our limits. We actually learn a lot, both about ourselves, about our equipment, and about our way of working, by working in these conditions."
19. South-Korea-made K9 artillery system used by Finnish forces
20. Finish soldier at guard
21. Focus pull of gun
STORYLINE:
Several thousand NATO troops took part in large-scale artillery drills in Finland for the first time since the country joined the military transatlantic alliance.
More than 3600 soldiers and around 1000 military vehicles took part in NATO’s largest Dynamic Front artillery exercise in Finland’s Arctic, less than 100 kilometres away from the Russian border.
"We’re here to reassure our partners and allies that we can deploy to tough and demanding environments, train in any conditions, organise ourselves as allies and partners in multiple configurations," Major General John Rafferty, Commanding General of the U.S. 56th Artillery Command, told journalists adding that the drills are not held in response to anything.
The exercise aims to train interoperability at one of the largest firing ranges in Europe measuring more than 1200 square kilometres in cold weather conditions.
A Finnish officer Capt. Alexander Siren, who works as a liaison officer for the UK artillery unit at the drills, says Finnish soldiers can provide allies with the expertise on how to operate in sub-zero conditions under the snow, adding that allied nations "get a lot from this and how they can operate."
Standing near a French-made CAESAR self-propelled howitzer, the commander of the gun, Sgt. Dillan, says the drills helped him and his unit to push their limits.
"We actually learn a lot, both about ourselves, about our equipment, and about our way of working," he told AP.
Finland became NATO’s 31st member in April.
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