Finland is the new front. What is the Finnish army?

Partisanship in high-tech modeFinland is almost in NATO, and this is a new neighbor with such a status and a solid front of the coalition in the northwest. But what is the modern army of the country of lakes? Discuss

Table

• Jäger Battalions
• Tanks and Artillery
• Light armored vehicles
• Aviation and Air Defense
• Summary

An article with a past analysis of potential conflicts and armies that Russia may face, as (often with a couch analytics) we missed because our hottest neighbor is now Finland. It's time to remember about the “hot Finnish guys”.

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Finland after the Second World War deftly maneuvered, not falling into either the zone of influence of the USSR or NATO. Such an island of neutrality and northern Switzerland. And now a course has been taken for joining NATO. Well, it's time to look at the Finnish army: what is there in it, and what is not there, but it could come in handy. Because the year turned out to be such that you never know…

Jäger battalions

The size of the Finnish army will not impress you, but you need to understand that Finland has a huge reserve of people who have seriously served in the army (not filling beds alone) and who have undergone periodic retraining in the reserve. Thus, the army can grow to 285,000 people within a few days.

A distinctive feature of the Finnish army is the Jaeger units. Chasseurs – a synonym for “light infantry”.

How are they different from regular mechanized infantry? Light infantry are formations without heavy weapons: without tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, heavy self-propelled guns. They are not burdened with large “carts” and are trained to fight in the mountains, forests, cities. In general, where the technique is not particularly applicable, or it is of little use.

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Jägers of the Finnish army are its elite and main striking force, despite the lightness of weapons. Because the country is forested, the invading enemy will be tied to few roads, and such formations can attack the enemy on the march, burn trucks with fuel and supplies, cutting off the enemy strike force from everything necessary for the war.

In addition to the standard equipment for light infantry units such as armored jeeps, buggies and ATVs, Finnish rangers also have specific equipment in the form of all-terrain vehicles and snowmobiles. It's a northern country – it's not just rattles for show-offs!

The Finns have 11 brigades, 4 jaeger brigades, plus separate special-purpose jaeger units.

Among the reservists, by the way, are not only pot-bellied “partisans”, but also girls.

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Tanks and artillery

There is only one tank brigade, but equipped with modern modifications of “leopards” Leopard 2 A6. These tanks are distinguished from the previous German cats of this series by enhanced mine protection and an elongated gun to increase muzzle energy and penetration of BOPS (armor-piercing piercing feathered shells).

Of the novelties (true for the mid-2000s) – a tank information and control system. This is such a single electronic-digital space that connects data about the tactical situation, the enemy, as well as about the tank itself. That is, it turns its management and use almost into a computer game. Although… for NATO tanks, this is not something out of the ordinary.

Leopard 2 A6

There are 100 such vehicles in the entire army + the same number in storage, but already the A4 modification, which is rather outdated today. But these are still formidable tanks, comparable in capabilities to the T-80BV, T-90A or T-72B3, especially if they are taken to modernize – with Leopards 2 this is done relatively quickly and easily. Especially when it comes to hardening security.

Their condition and how long they can be brought into combat condition are unknown. But you need to understand that the Finns are unlikely to have them half-rotten and without engines.

There are very few self-propelled artillery, but there are 48 (and 10 more are waiting) used K9 self-propelled guns from South Korea. These 155 mm guns are in many ways superior to NATO models, and some types of active-rocket projectiles bring the radius of destruction to 54 km (!), Which is noticeably superior to both our Msta-S and the American М109А6 Palladin. They are supplemented by 74 self-propelled guns 2S1 Gvozdika, which have long been in the category of “well… such a thing.”

K9 self-propelled guns

Jäger units support towed Soviet 2A36 Giacint heavy guns and D-30 light howitzers.

There are no tactical and operational-tactical complexes, but there is an American M270 platform. Which, although MLRS, but has heavy high-precision missiles with a cluster or high-explosive AFOM warhead. And such missiles are launched at a distance of up to 80 km, which can hardly be compared with tactical missile systems. The M270 also has launchers for ATACMS tactical missiles capable of hitting up to 300 km, but there is no information in open sources about the presence of such in the Finnish army.

Light Armored Vehicles

In the event of a war in Finland, tanks are clearly not the masters of life, light equipment will play a much greater role – infantry fighting vehicles, armored personnel carriers, armored cars.

CV90 FIN

The main striking force of the infantry is the famous Swedish BMP CV-90. They are distinguished from the vast majority of armored vehicles in the world by heavier weapons. Depending on the modification, these can be 35, 40 and 50 mm Bofors automatic guns, but the Finnish army is provided with 30 mm Mk44 Bushmaster that flooded everything and everything.

There is no open information about whether the combat module of the Finnish version of the third-generation Spike anti-tank systems is included, such ones have been openly purchased by the Netherlands. The lack of guided weapons is a weak feature of the CV90 in almost all modifications, and, probably, retribution for a powerful autocannon.

Vehicles have protection against 14.5 mm KPVT in all projections, and have the ability to reinforce armor with titanium screens, which give resistance to 30 mm.

Since 2016, KAZ (active protection complex) Iron Fist, created as a development of the legendary Israeli KAZ Trophy. The system is able to detect kinetic and cumulative ammunition flying up to the vehicle and hit them in a timely manner before hitting the BMP.

Patria AMV

Of particular note is Finnish own Patria AMV armored personnel carriers, which are gaining popularity around the world as a more affordable analogue (conditionally Skoda Octavia versus Volkswagen Golf) of the German Boxer– “ultra-lux” among all armored personnel carriers. The Finns have hitherto had almost nothing of their own military-industrial complex, except of course the local versions of the AK from Valmet, so this debut is a real breakthrough.

Patria is a modular platform that, depending on tasks, increases armor and installs different combat modules. Such a platform can be brought almost to the level of a wheeled tank. The Poles are doing about the same thing, whose armored personnel carriers/wheeled infantry fighting vehicles Wolverine may also soon storm the market.

Patria combines mine protection, an advanced fire extinguishing and fire prevention system (layout) and protection modules can bring a 17-ton vehicle to a 27-ton one, protecting against shots from 30 mm BMP-2 or BTR-82 autocannons.

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Sisu XA

100 units of CV90, and almost 100 Patrias complement more prosaic vehicles, like 110 BMP-2s upgraded with thermal imagers and multi-spectral camouflage (reduces radar and infrared visibility for ATGMs and helicopters). Probably, they were released by the Swedish Saab Barracuda (everyone buys them today) or is it a local analogue. And most of the infantry from the reservists will ride on the already outdated armored personnel carriers from the same company Patria – Sisu XA, there are 630 of these.

But a country in which almost half of the infantry will fight with Jaeger tactics must be equipped with a large number of MRAPs (Mine Resistant Transporters), light and heavy armored cars. The Finns are just starting to work with this technique, they are buying South African MRAP RG-42 Scouts, and the same Patria is trying to build something, but there is still a fog of war around this issue.

Blue berets – blue splashed.mp3… in Finnish

Aviation and Air Defense

The main strike force is F/A-18C Hornet fighter-bombers. In this version, the aircraft has upgraded avionics for the use of air-to-ground missiles AGM-65 Maverick – “Vagabond”. This daddy's tramp is equipped with television, infrared and laser guidance, thanks to which, aircraft of this type were used to deliver pinpoint strikes in urban areas, including moving objects.

54 F -18C were consolidated into 3 squadrons, and light attack aircraft converted from British training Mk.51 will help them.

F/A-18C

In terms of air defense, Finland does not have long-range systems as such to cover cities and important strategic objects. In the 1990s, the Russian Buk-M1 was the main air defense weapon. But the Finns realized that if they were used, the enemy would most likely be the Russian Air Force, who knew their systems and how to neutralize them, so the Finnish army was quickly transferred to the Norwegian NASAMS II complex.

The NASAMS II launcher consists of 6 AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles with a range of up to 60 km (in modifications up to 180 km) and a speed of up to Mach 4, these missiles are also equipped with F-18s. The radar of the AN/MPQ 64 complex is capable of detecting missiles within a radius of 75 km and sees targets at a speed of about Mach 3 and an altitude of 16 km. Light aircraft missiles are mounted on mobile wheeled chassis.

NASAMS II

In general, NASAMS II can be relied upon to protect against most aircraft, cruise and tactical missiles, although with a mass of about 160 kg, the rocket may lack power and striking elements for reliable destruction.

At the same time, the complex can launch without a radar using the Link 16 system. This military tactical data transmission network in digital, with a high level of protection, is used by NATO, and allows the complex to launch in a passive mode (without a radar). This increases camouflage and protection against enemy electronic warfare (detection and jamming equipment). img src=”https://www.ferra.ru/review/techlife/” class=”PfUsGslq” alt=”” Finland — new front. What is the Finnish army? />1/4

The Finnish army is sharpened for defense on its territory, which is reasonable, because the country of forests and lakes is difficult to pass and any enemy runs the risk of being tied to railways and roads, that is, to be in full view of the Finns. That is, since the Soviet-Finnish war of 1939-1940, little has changed.

The disadvantage is a small permanent number, most of the brigades in peacetime consist of training units and will be deployed for a long time due to the call of reservists. The country's rapid reaction forces, in case of a sudden invasion, are scanty – this is the second reason why the Finns are preparing to fight at home. the enemy operation will run into fierce resistance from mobile light infantry formations and territorial self-defense forces, which are armed with a significant number of modern Spike anti-tank systems (185 sets) and NLAW systems (3000 disposable sets).