Synopsis
Allied forces are training together in Finland to strengthen coordination across multinational units.
Exercise Northern Star 26, held in Finland’s Kainuu region, is the first time a large-scale Allied exercise has taken place in this area since Finland joined the Alliance in 2023. More than 5,000 troops from seven NATO Allies – Finland, France, Hungary, Italy, Poland, the United Kingdom and the United States – are training side by side, strengthening joint operations. The exercise runs from 18 to 30 May 2026.
Taking place in dense forest terrain, the exercise focuses on coordinated air and land manoeuvres in realistic scenarios. Chinook helicopters conduct troop insertions into designated landing zones to support ground operations. Armoured units manoeuvre across the terrain while infantry advance and engage in simulated combat in the dense forests of Kainuu.
For many Finnish conscripts, the exercise represents the final and most demanding phase of their military service, testing skills developed throughout their training at both the individual and unit levels. At the same time, the participation of seven NATO Allies highlights the importance of integrated operations in strengthening the security of Finland and the wider Alliance.
Footage includes Chinook helicopters conducting troop insertions, tanks manoeuvring in the field, and soldiers advancing and engaging in simulated combat in the forests of Kainuu during exercise Northern Star 26. It also features soundbites with the commander of the Kainuu Brigade, Brigadier General Ari Laaksonen of the Finnish Defence Forces.
SHOTLIST
(00:00) MEDIUM SHOT – US ARMY CHINOOK HELICOPTER FLIES THROUGH FINNISH FORESTS.
(00:12) VARIOUS SHOTS – ALLIED SOLDIERS DISEMBARK FROM A US ARMY CHINOOK HELICOPTER IN AN OPEN AREA OF THE FINNISH FOREST.
(00:22) VARIOUS SHOTS – FINNISH TANK ADVANCES THROUGH THE FOREST IN KAINUU, FINLAND.
(01:14) VARIOUS SHOTS – FINNISH SOLDIERS HOLD POSITION AND OBSERVE THEIR SURROUNDINGS.
(01:41) VARIOUS SHOTS – FINNISH SOLDIER HOLDS POSITION AND OBSERVES SURROUNDINGS WITH A MACHINE GUN.
(01:52) VARIOUS SHOTS – FINNISH SOLDIER HOLDS POSITION AND OBSERVES SURROUNDINGS.
(02:02) VARIOUS SHOTS – FINNISH SOLDIER USES A SHOVEL TO BUILD A HIDEOUT.
(02:11) MEDIUM SHOT – ITALIAN SOLDIERS MOVE THROUGH THE FOREST IN KAINUU, FINLAND.
(02:15) MEDIUM SHOT – ITALIAN SOLDIER HOLDS POSITION AND OBSERVES SURROUNDINGS.
(02:20) MEDIUM SHOT – ITALIAN SOLDIERS DISCUSS TACTICS WHILE HOLDING POSITION DURING THE EXERCISE.
(02:26) VARIOUS SHOTS – ITALIAN SOLDIER LAYS A SIMULATED ANTI-VEHICLE LANDMINE DURING THE EXERCISE.
(02:41) VARIOUS SHOTS – ITALIAN SOLDIERS HOLD POSITION AND OBSERVE SURROUNDINGS.
(03:05) VARIOUS SHOTS – FINNISH SOLDIERS DISCUSS TACTICS AND MOVEMENT DURING THE EXERCISE.
(03:15) VARIOUS SHOTS – FINNISH SOLDIERS MOVE THROUGH THE FOREST IN KAINUU, FINLAND.
(03:29) VARIOUS SHOTS – FINNISH SOLDIERS ENGAGE IN SIMULATED ENEMY FIRE DURING THE EXERCISE.
(03:41) VARIOUS SHOTS – FINNISH SOLDIERS MOVE THROUGH THE FOREST IN KAINUU, FINLAND.
(04:01) VARIOUS SHOTS – FINNISH SOLDIERS MOVE THROUGH THE FOREST WITH BANDVAGN (TRACKED ARTICULATED ALL-TERRAIN VEHICLES) IN KAINUU, FINLAND.
(04:17) MEDIUM SHOT – US ARMY SOLDIERS HOLD POSITION AND OBSERVE SURROUNDINGS.
(04:21) SOUNDBITE – BRIGADIER GENERAL ARI LAAKSONEN, COMMANDER OF KAINUU BRIGADE, FINNISH DEFENCE FORCES
“The exercise Northern Star is a combination of troops. It's a national exercise for the conscripts, and this time there is a strong footprint about the Allied and friends and forces. So we have troops from the UK, US, who has been strongly in the planning phase. And, of course, in the longer-term perspective, there is Italian, French, Polish, and Hungarian troops. And in this combination, it has been a very, very nice process to combine everything together.”
(04:52) SOUNDBITE – BRIGADIER GENERAL ARI LAAKSONEN, COMMANDER OF KAINUU BRIGADE, FINNISH DEFENCE FORCES
“This exercise is very crucial for ourselves, just to make sure that we are good to go with our national perspective. Nowadays, it's more and more to operate together, which means that we have to be able to be interoperable, starting from the point that you are having your troops here, and then having the exercise, and then redeploy them back home, and to fulfil the whole experience to both of us.”
(05:18) SOUNDBITE – BRIGADIER GENERAL ARI LAAKSONEN, COMMANDER OF KAINUU BRIGADE, FINNISH DEFENCE FORCES
“The Allied forces are coming as a light infantry. So that one of the main objectives for us, together with the multinational Battalion, is that how we combine the air land operations, because that's new element for us. We have done it last, I would say, two years, but still every exercise where there is a possibility to operate, like the aviation task force here, it's always some kind of key takeaway, that we make sure that we are good to go. And like you can listen, there is fixed wings in the air. So the coordination of air nowadays, with drones, with helos, with fixed wings, it's something that in this time you really need to understand how you manage that one.”
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