{"id":65538,"date":"2026-06-17T22:16:53","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T20:16:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/?p=65538"},"modified":"2026-06-17T22:16:53","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T20:16:53","slug":"spanish-ef-18-fighter-jets-and-an-f-35b-with-tiger-stripes-operating-on-roads-in-finland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/2026\/06\/17\/spanish-ef-18-fighter-jets-and-an-f-35b-with-tiger-stripes-operating-on-roads-in-finland\/","title":{"rendered":"Spanish EF-18 fighter jets and an F-35B with tiger stripes operating on roads in Finland"},"content":{"rendered":"

From June 8 to 19, NATO is organizing the Ramstein Flag 26 exercise, with the participation of more than 150 aircraft from allied countries.<\/p>\n

The aerial refueling of an Airbus A400M from Spain to F\/A-18 fighters from Finland<\/a><\/rel>
\nSpanish GEO police officers in a spectacular video from the Finnish Defence Forces<\/a><\/rel><\/p>\n

The exercise is organized into two zones: the South, in which Spain is the host nation<\/strong> (with the Los Llanos Air Base, in Albacete, as the operations center), and the North, with Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden as hosts.<\/strong> On May 18, the Finnish Air Force announced<\/a> that 50 aircraft and 1,300 airmen would be deployed to Finland for this exercise, and that Spain would be present in two locations in that Nordic country: Jyv\u00e4skyl\u00e4<\/strong>, headquarters of the Finnish Air Force Academy in Tikkakoski, and Rovaniemi<\/strong>, capital of the northern province of Lapland, whose airport has the peculiarity that the Arctic Circle crosses its runway<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/div>\n
The emblems of the Southern (left) and Northern (right) parts of NATO's Ramstein Flag 26 exercise. Each emblem displays the flags of the opposing countries. (Image: OTAN<\/a>).<\/div>\n

As part of this exercise, on Tuesday the Spanish Air Force announced<\/a> that EF-18M fighter jets from Wing 12 have been deployed to Jyv\u00e4skyl\u00e4 and an A330 MRTT tanker aircraft is operating from Rovaniemi, providing support to the fighter jets. One of the capabilities that the allied forces are training in this exercise is dispersed operations, in which Finland and Sweden already have extensive experience. These operations allow aircraft to take off and land from civilian roads, making them more difficult to locate in the event of war.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/div>\n
A Spanish EF-18M fighter jet from Wing 12 operating from regional road 551 between Karttula and Tervo, Finland, during Exercise Ramstein Flag 26 (Photo: Ilmavoimat<\/a>).<\/div>\n

Two years ago, a USAF F-35A became the first F-35 to land on a European highway during an exercise in Finland<\/a>. Now, that country shares that capability with other allies. This Monday, the Finnish Air Force released this video<\/a> showing operations on Regional Highway 551 between Karttula and Tervo<\/strong>, where it has one of its auxiliary bases on a straight stretch of road. In the images we can see a Spanish EF-18M fighter from Wing 12, the C.15-69 (12-27)<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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Ramstein Flag 26 \u2012 Tervo highway strip \ud83d\udeec<\/p>\n

During the first week of Ramstein Flag 26, the U.S. Marine Corps & the Polish and Spanish air forces operated fighter jets from a Finnish highway strip for the first time. \ud83c\uddeb\ud83c\uddee\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\uddf5\ud83c\uddf1\ud83c\uddea\ud83c\uddf8#ilmavoimat<\/a> #RamsteinFlag<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/Fe0lmWWUr4<\/a><\/p>\n

— Ilmavoimat (@FinnishAirForce) June 15, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n