Defence Secretary Michael Fallon met his Swedish and Finnish counterparts at a signing event welcoming the two countries to the Joint Expeditionary Force.
Launched in 2015, the joint force has continued to develop and will become fully operational next year, which could mean the mobilisation of 10,000 troops to respond quickly to a range of issues, using combat power, deterrence or humanitarian support.
According to the MoD:
“Spearheaded by the UK, Sweden and Finland make the JEF a nine-nation-strong pool of forces, alongside Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, and Norway. The JEF builds on many years of experience between the UK and these countries.
During the Ebola outbreak a Dutch ship worked alongside the Royal Navy, and the Norwegians provided twice weekly C130 flights to support the UK response to the crisis. This example of joint work is a clear example of the kind of humanitarian support the JEF will be able to provide.
The JEF concept is distinct from existing international organisations, and can operate alone, but has the ability to integrate with other multinational high-readiness forces, and can support NATO, EU, and UN forces.”
Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon said:
“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.
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.
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.
During the signing event, the Defence Secretary’s Swedish and Finnish counterparts underlined their commitment to working with the other JEF members on cooperative European security and managing crises.
Minister for Defence of Sweden Peter Hultqvist said:
“The JEF will complement our bilateral and multilateral cooperation focusing both on our close vicinity and a broader global agenda.”
Minister of Defence of Finland Jussi Niinisto said:
“Both Sweden and the UK are important partners for Finland and joining JEF gives our cooperation yet another dimension. We believe that the cooperation will enhance our national defence capability and deepen cooperation with our partners.”
Sounds like a coalition of honest, solid, reliable partners….a winning team.
lol i know its not wartime, but i was interested in seeing ‘big lizzie’ with 2 tpe23’s as escorts, i’d assume an astute was nearby, i expected her to have a 45 with her. and a full deck of merlins
Good to hear other countries are joining, as it means there is a reasonable chance of having enough escorts to cover the task force, unlike the last time it sailed when i counted no escorts.
The EU will put an end to this as they see anything not under their control as a threat. Even successful ones like NATO …. we need to forget all this intra -European ‘co-operation’, let the EU pay its way and make its own commitments rather than freeload off us and the USA and stick with those outside the EU we know have still got sovereign decision making within their control. Like the ‘Five Eyes Alliance’ which has a global reach.
Here, here Chris – well said sir!