Finland expects the first deliveries of F-35 stealth jets to be deployed in an airbase close to Santa Claus Village, according to military officials.

The units are expected to arrive in the Nordic country's northernmost region, Lapland, by 2026 as a response to the invasion of Ukraine.

Finland Bids for NATO Membership

Last Friday, the Finnish air force commander Brigadier General Juha-Pekka Keränen remarked that the F-35s would be active in the Lapland Air Force, reported RT.

The airbase's exact location is about seven kilometers from Rovaniemi city in the Arctic Circle, also knowns as Santa Claus village. It is the farthest base in the north for housing the jets.

December 2021, Helsinki bought the 64 of the 5th gen aircraft multi-role planes scheduled to be in service after the F/A-18 Hornet is decommissioned. The fleet of stealth jets is expected to be fully operational by 2030.

In Finland and its bid to be part of the NATO filed last May 17, there will be more F-35 stealth jets if the application is approved. Norway, a NATO member, has 34 of the new planes from a total of 52 to be received.

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While the majority of Norway's F-35 fleet is based at Orlandet airbase in the south, NATO's Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) forces station several aircraft north of the Arctic Circle at Evenes airbase, cited Oacoree.

An incident last Thursday when a pair of F-35s deployed from the southern Orlandet airbase; to intercept a couple of Russian planes that were in transit over the Barents Sea though not violating Norway's airspace.

Russian Watchdogs in the North

Should these F-35s situated at Rovaniemi participate in the alliance's QRA forces, intercepting hypothetical Russian military planes flying west of the Kola Peninsula could well take less time.

This is not a foregone conclusion, and the Finnish F-35s could be tasked with defending the country's 1,340-kilometer-long land border with Russia, whereas their Norwegian equivalents continue to operate in NATO's QRA forces on the north side.

Antti Kaikkonen, Finland's Defense Minister, last Friday, said that his country is inviting partner nations for military drills in the region.

The exercise is expected to start this summer to accustom the Nordic nation's military to NATO standards and show solid support. As that country's application is processed to be a NATO member, noted the Big News Network.

Finland To Drop Neutral Status

After Russia attacked Ukraine in late February, Finland, a long-time neutral state, abruptly changed its mind about joining the military alliance.

Helsinki explained that joining NATO is a way to stop Russian aggression against the country, citing Ukraine that provoked Moscow. According to several polls conducted in the country, up to 75% of Finns now support NATO membership.

The EU Commissioner for International Partnerships Jutta Urpilainen, a Finnish national, said that the view that they are attuned to neutrality is a misconception. Speaking to Germany's RND media group last Monday.

Urpilainen asserts that the Nordic nation is not neutral because of its link to western nations and joining the EU in 1995.

Moscow says it never planned any aggression to attack its border neighbor; it called the decision very unfortunate because if it joins NATO, the borders will be militarized. Finland, with its fleet of F-35 Stealth Jets stationed close to Santa Claus Village, will be caught in a conflict that places the nation as cannon fodder in the encirclement of Russia by NATO.

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