British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace announced that he had sent six RAF fighters to Finland and Sweden for joint military exercises, noting that “including two F-35 fighters.”

In a statement, the minister explained that “the deployment of British fighter aircraft and the holding of joint military exercises came at the request of Sweden and Finland and demonstrates the UK’s commitment to strengthening collective security”, noting that “the accession of Sweden and Finland to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) will make the alliance stronger. This is the time when we are facing a new threat in Europe.”

Wallace considered Sweden and Finland to be “important defense partners”, noting that “the purpose of these military exercises is to improve the ability of the air forces of the three countries to work together seamlessly.”

It is planned that British military fighters will take part in combat exercises with Finnish F-18 fighters and Swedish Gripen fighters.

It is worth noting that NATO member countries last week launched procedures for ratifying the accession of Sweden and Finland to the alliance, which will bring the number of member countries to 32, and Russia has threatened that it is “exploring options for a response if the forces of the alliance are deployed near its borders after the annexation of two countries.