Gripen aircraft to Iceland for Arctic preparedness

TT

Updated 11.53 | Published 11.37

 

Gripen aircraft to participate in NATO operation in Iceland. Archive photo. Photo: Jonas Ekströmer/TT

The Air Force will participate with Gripen aircraft in NATO's incident preparedness in Iceland in February and March, the Armed Forces write in a press release.

The fighter unit will take responsibility for NATO's joint air defense tasks.

"The Arctic is part of our new area of ​​operations in NATO and a strategically important area," says the head of the operations command, Vice Admiral Ewa Skoog Haslum, in the press release, which emphasizes that Russia has ambitions in the area.

The Armed Forces belong to a new area of ​​operations in NATO, JFC Norfolk, which extends from North America to the Finnish and Norwegian border with Russia. The area includes the Arctic and the transatlantic link that connects North America with Europe.

The Swedish fighter jets and combat command are led by the NATO Air Operations Center in Uedem, Germany.