The aerial refueling of an Airbus A400M from Spain to F/A-18 fighters from Finland

@DefAviation ES 9·06·2023 · 21:10 0

Finland's entry into NATO on April 4 is leading to more and more joint flights between Finnish and allied military aircraft.

The strong deployment of Spanish military aircrafts in a very conflictive place in Europe
The exhibition of a Finnish pilot doing almost impossible maneuvers with an F/A-18C fighter

Spain and Finland are two very distant countries, but there is a fact that has brought them a little closer: the deployment of nine Spanish military aircraft (eight Eurofighter fighters from Ala 11 and a tanker plane A400M Atlas of the 31st Wing) in Ämari, Estonia last July, on a NATO Baltic Air Police (BAP) mission. Estonia and Finland are two very close countries geographically and also in the cultural and linguistic sphere (both the Finnish and Estonian languages belong to the branch of the Finno-Baltic languages). The Spanish military presence in Estonia is being an opportunity to strengthen ties between the Spanish Air Force and the Finnish Air Force.

The first presence of Spanish military aircraft in Finland took place on June 15, 2018 at the Tikkaskoski air festival, in which two Eurofighter Typhoons from Ala 11, based in Morón, participated. On August 30 of this year, in the afternoon, Spain and Finland completed a new common milestone: the first aerial refueling of a Spanish military aircraft to Finnish fighters.

This mission was announced by the Finnish Air Force, noting that fighters would participate in it F/A-18 Hornet of the Karelian Air Command, which covers the southeastern part of Finland, bordering Russia. The refueling flight took place over the central part of Finland. The Finnish Air Force did not give further details of the flight or publish photos of it.

This Tuesday, the Finnish Air Force reported a new in-flight refueling with the Army of the Aire, showing images of the Spanish A400M deployed in Estonia, the TK.23-03 (31-23), and several F/A-18C/D fighters during these in-flight fuel supply operations. This time, the Finnish fighters belonged to the Karelia Air Command and the Lapland Air Command, the latter assigned to that region of northern Finland. The published photos were taken by Hävittäjälentolaivue 11 (HävLLv 11, Fighter Squadron No. 11) of the Lapland Air Command, based in Rovaniemi.

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Main photo: Lapin lennosto.