Arctic Challenge Exercise 2023
Discussion
Arctic Challenge is a biannual air exercise, initially just between Finland, Sweden and Norway, taking part over the wide empty area of Lapland and the Finnish Gulf. It was designed to increase interoperability between these nation's air forces, and has since become one of the biggest NATO exercise in Europe with over 140 aircraft from various nations and thousands of personnel.
This year Finland is hosting in both Rovaniemi and Tampere. The exercise is this week and next week with flying in two waves per day.
I spent two days at Tampere checking out the action!
One thing I like about these exercises is the support aircraft, here we have a Bundesrepublik Bombardier Global 6000 on the apron.
Tampere welcomed F-15D's from USAFE Lakenheath, Saab Gripen C's from Sweden and of course the home team in the Hornet C and D models
This shot shows a good size comparison between the little Gripen and the Eagle
I have a thing for the Hornet D model, there are only a handful flying in Finland, a handful in Swiss use and not many more flying with the Marine Corps, so these are becoming quite rare these days.
I had some good access on the landing phase, which meant good side on shots with the sun behind me. A Gripen coming into finals
I love being close to Eagles as they land, they make a terrific mechanical whirring noise as the control surfaces move. Really cool.
A walk under the approach gets some nice profile shots
and another of the Gripen coming in with another Hornet waiting its turn.
Turning around got me some nice shots through the hot air of the jet pipes. I was humming Dangerzone pretty much this whole time.
A final one for now of a local Hornet on approach.
I'll bash some more up here when i get a moment, lot's more unusual and interesting airframes to come!
Best wishes from Finland.
This year Finland is hosting in both Rovaniemi and Tampere. The exercise is this week and next week with flying in two waves per day.
I spent two days at Tampere checking out the action!
One thing I like about these exercises is the support aircraft, here we have a Bundesrepublik Bombardier Global 6000 on the apron.
Tampere welcomed F-15D's from USAFE Lakenheath, Saab Gripen C's from Sweden and of course the home team in the Hornet C and D models
This shot shows a good size comparison between the little Gripen and the Eagle
I have a thing for the Hornet D model, there are only a handful flying in Finland, a handful in Swiss use and not many more flying with the Marine Corps, so these are becoming quite rare these days.
I had some good access on the landing phase, which meant good side on shots with the sun behind me. A Gripen coming into finals
I love being close to Eagles as they land, they make a terrific mechanical whirring noise as the control surfaces move. Really cool.
A walk under the approach gets some nice profile shots
and another of the Gripen coming in with another Hornet waiting its turn.
Turning around got me some nice shots through the hot air of the jet pipes. I was humming Dangerzone pretty much this whole time.
A final one for now of a local Hornet on approach.
I'll bash some more up here when i get a moment, lot's more unusual and interesting airframes to come!
Best wishes from Finland.
Edited by Jake899 on Thursday 1st June 13:40
Next day started by the civilian control tower (no access on the base side) so out with the big ladder to get a clear shot over the 2.5m fence! Sun was in the wrong place but we do what we can. First out was a little SK60 Saab trainer from Sweden, obviously transferring someone between the bases.
Then the morning wave started up, with the USAFE contingent being led by this specially marked D model celebrating 75 years of the 48th Fighter Wing. Nice to have a bit of colour.
Then back around to the landing area to catch this LANTRN pod equipped Hornet
And to catch the Special F15D come home
There's a lot of construction work going on in the military side of Tampere, new dispersals and infrastructure for the arrival of Finnish F35As in a year or twos time. Also improved is the road network to the base, which might present some new angles to photograph from in future.
Of course Tampere is also a civil airport so every now and again an airliner will come through. This helped me get my focus length ready for what comes next
This was a new type for me, the Canadian CC-150 Polaris which is based on the Airbus A310-300. This is a "T" type, one of only two worldwide used for aerial refueling.
So rare it deserves a decent second picture:
Having got most of what i wanted in the bag, I now decided to push shutter times and settings a little for the afternoon wave. A cloudy moment shows off the afterburners on this F15.
A Finnish CASA-295 came out for a quick circuit, it must have been empty because its run up and departure angle mimicked a homesick angel!
In 5 years time when every western air force flies F35s, we will really miss these old F18 Hornets. Not a bad panning shot here!
Just a few more to go when I get a moment!
Then the morning wave started up, with the USAFE contingent being led by this specially marked D model celebrating 75 years of the 48th Fighter Wing. Nice to have a bit of colour.
Then back around to the landing area to catch this LANTRN pod equipped Hornet
And to catch the Special F15D come home
There's a lot of construction work going on in the military side of Tampere, new dispersals and infrastructure for the arrival of Finnish F35As in a year or twos time. Also improved is the road network to the base, which might present some new angles to photograph from in future.
Of course Tampere is also a civil airport so every now and again an airliner will come through. This helped me get my focus length ready for what comes next
This was a new type for me, the Canadian CC-150 Polaris which is based on the Airbus A310-300. This is a "T" type, one of only two worldwide used for aerial refueling.
So rare it deserves a decent second picture:
Having got most of what i wanted in the bag, I now decided to push shutter times and settings a little for the afternoon wave. A cloudy moment shows off the afterburners on this F15.
A Finnish CASA-295 came out for a quick circuit, it must have been empty because its run up and departure angle mimicked a homesick angel!
In 5 years time when every western air force flies F35s, we will really miss these old F18 Hornets. Not a bad panning shot here!
Just a few more to go when I get a moment!
The last few shots that I have finally got round to uploading,
It's always nice to see an aircraft with special markings, and it was great to get so many nice shots of the 75th Anni 48th FW Eagle.
The Gripen is quite an unusual sight in the skies for most of Europe, but quite a regular one for us here in Finland. It's nice that not every country is going to buy the same F-35, and impressive that a nation as small as Sweden can maintain an active aerospace industry when Britain can't. Soon we will start to see deployments of the new, slightly larger E and F models, so for now it's great to catch Gripen C's flying!
There's a few air to air shots circling the internet from Tampere, sadly I don't have the cache to swing a seat for that, but here's the airframe used for the photo-op. Finland operate a small number of CASA 295s for transport and recon work.
Only a few more years of Hornet ops in Finland, so we are all really enjoying them while they are still around. This shot shows the difference in a naval airframe, comparing the thickness of the undercarraige to that of a much larger and heavier Eagle. These things are really built tough, and are perfect for the road dispersal doctrine used here in Finland.
And a final shot of a Lakenheath Eagle coming in to land, banking hard onto finals. 45 years old, still one heck of a capable aircraft.
Thats the lot from me from ACE23, hope you enjoyed the pictures and i'll add a few from the airshow next weekend in Turku.
Greets from Finland!
It's always nice to see an aircraft with special markings, and it was great to get so many nice shots of the 75th Anni 48th FW Eagle.
The Gripen is quite an unusual sight in the skies for most of Europe, but quite a regular one for us here in Finland. It's nice that not every country is going to buy the same F-35, and impressive that a nation as small as Sweden can maintain an active aerospace industry when Britain can't. Soon we will start to see deployments of the new, slightly larger E and F models, so for now it's great to catch Gripen C's flying!
There's a few air to air shots circling the internet from Tampere, sadly I don't have the cache to swing a seat for that, but here's the airframe used for the photo-op. Finland operate a small number of CASA 295s for transport and recon work.
Only a few more years of Hornet ops in Finland, so we are all really enjoying them while they are still around. This shot shows the difference in a naval airframe, comparing the thickness of the undercarraige to that of a much larger and heavier Eagle. These things are really built tough, and are perfect for the road dispersal doctrine used here in Finland.
And a final shot of a Lakenheath Eagle coming in to land, banking hard onto finals. 45 years old, still one heck of a capable aircraft.
Thats the lot from me from ACE23, hope you enjoyed the pictures and i'll add a few from the airshow next weekend in Turku.
Greets from Finland!
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