Military cooperation with NATO

The Finnish Defence Forces implement military cooperation within NATO in the following areas:

1. Developing national strategic planning capability and compatibility by drawing on best practices and internationally compatible and standardised planning and operating procedures.
2. Implementing research and development cooperation and acquiring international research data for use in national R&D activities.
3. Sending personnel to NATO’s command and force structures and operations in order to enhance information exchange, the skills of the personnel and force capabilities.
4. Training staff on NATO courses to develop national defence capabilities and improve their ability to participate in international cooperation and operations.
5. Participating in NATO exercises in Finland and abroad to enhance the readiness and capability of the troops and the competence and capacities of the staff.
6. Conducting evaluations of the Finnish Defence Forces’ troops following NATO criteria in order to ensure their competence level and deployability in international cooperation.
7. Enhancing the interoperability and compatibility of command and control systems through participation as National affiliate in NATO’s FMN initiative based Federated Mission Networking Framework.
8. Deepening cyber defence cooperation especially in regard to information exchange.
9. Improving logistics and related planning on the basis of standardised, internationally compatible practices.
10. Contributing to NATO’s standardisation work and promoting cost-effective defence materiel procurement.
11. Promoting cooperation in information exchange and situational awareness.
12. Developing procedures for implementing Host Nation Support (HNS), building up relevant national capabilities and testing them during exercises.
13. Cooperating in communications especially to support Finland's participation in NATO exercises.
14. Participating in the NRF and enhancing the readiness and interoperability of national forces and their ability to participate in the NATO’s troop exercises.
15. Participating in NATO-led operations (Afghanistan and Kosovo) following the criteria in the Finnish Act on Military Crisis Management. The participation of the Finnish Defence Forces in NATO’s operations contributes to the development of its capabilities, personnel, training programmes, equipment and tactics and helps sustain interoperability under demanding circumstances.