Evolving readiness in Finland – Navy readiness units

 

Jehu-class boat and NH-90 helicopters. Photo: FDF

The Finnish Defense Forces have been working hard with improving their readiness since 2014. The army has developed readiness units that are manned with conscripts serving 6 months of their 12-month conscription in a readiness role. The units are rather hard hitting, with usually a company of infantry augmented by organic artillery, anti-aircraft, and main battle tank detachments.

While the Army readiness units have been operational for five years now, the first two Navy units reached operational status in December 2021. The unit is formed much in the same way as the army units, with a core of professional soldiers supported by the 12 month serving conscripts that make up the bulk of the unit.

Navy readiness unit conducting CQB training. Note the blue version of the readiness unit patch.    Photo FDF

What differentiates the Navy unit from their dry land counterparts, is their ability to be used also in international situations, in crisis response and giving military support to friendly nations. The units are trained to international standards and all personnel are required to speak English and Swedish and most of them also speak Finnish.

The unit is composed of Coastal infantry and it’s capable of using PASI 6x6 APC on the ground, Jehu-class landing crafts / Combat boats on the sea and the NH-90 helicopters of the Utti Jaeger Regiment in the air. The high mobility in various situations is a great asset, both on the coastal areas as well as when supporting the Army readiness units. The units are also trained to assist in maritime emergency situations.

PKM, Always cool. Photo: FDF

The current Finnish readiness structure that is built upon the professional special forces, conscript readiness units, high readiness reserve local battalions and the massive reserve force is well suited for responding to most possible threat scenarios from local incidents to full scale peer war.

Speaking of the Special Forces, the Finnish Defence Forces have decided to consolidate all their professional Special Forces units to the Utti Jaeger Regiment, that will now host both the Special Jaegers of the army and the ETO of the Navy. The move will allow better development, training, and employment of these high-end assets. In addition to the SF units, the regiment also has a conscript training Parachute Jaeger company and the Helicopter Battalion.

More on the Finnish readiness units:

https://blog.vantagepointnorth.net/2021/03/military-readiness-during-pandemic.html