Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon welcomed the two Scandinavian nations to the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) during an official signing event at Karlberg Castle, in Stockholm, alongside Swedish Defence Minister Peter Hultqvist and Finnish Defence Minister Jussi Niinisto.
“In an uncertain world, the UK is spearheading this high-readiness joint force, which will help us tackle growing threats. Together, we pack a more powerful punch”, said Sir Michael Fallon. “This is a Force of Friends, and alongside Sweden, Finland, and our other partners in this force, we remain committed to security, in Europe and around the world.”
The UK’s contribution to the JEF will include lead commando, airborne, armoured, aviation, and air and maritime task groups. The first exercise took place last year at RAF St Mawgan, in Cornwall. Joint Venture 16 involved 1,600 UK personnel in the JEF force headquarters, known as the Standing Joint Force Headquarters and commanded by a British 2* general, which was put to the test in a dynamic fictional scenario.
“We are stronger together, and, this joint force clearly shows Britain is standing shoulder-to-shoulder with our international allies.”, Fallon said.
Joint Venture 17 is already underway, with a similar number of personnel taking part from the Royal Navy, Army, and RAF, and is testing the UK’s operational level command and control, using force elements from JEF partner nations. These exercises, and future JEF training and operations, enable the nine partner nations to train, integrate, share knowledge, skills and resources.