The Finnish government has announced today (June 1) that the country will host a series of testing events led by NATO’s Allied Command Transformation as part of the national implementation of the NATO Innovation Range (NIR). The events will be held in Riihimäki, Joensuu, Oulu and Turku.
The NIR events are an opportunity for companies who are developing defence and security technologies to test the feasibility of their innovations in practice and ascertain that they meet the requirements of real-world situations and environments.
Both Finnish companies and international companies from NATO member states will be participating in the events. They will be testing counter-uncrewed aerial systems (C-UAS), command and control systems, system integration, artificial intelligence and data applications, communications technologies and sensor systems.
Each of the four events offer companies a specific environment to test their innovations, including command and control, NATO’s eastern flank, High North and the maritime domain.
In connection with the NIR events, a testing event for NATO’s Layered Counter Unmanned Aircraft Systems Initiative (LCI-X) will also be held. The LCI-X aims to enable the development of new and innovative C-UAS technologies.
“The NATO Innovation Range events in Finland offer companies high-quality, realistic conditions and a world-class testing infrastructure. These NATO-led testing events bring together developers of new technologies and end-users in the defence administration. They promote interoperability of Allied systems and foster performance in demanding operational domains,” Minister of Defence Antti Häkkänen said today. “Our active participation in NATO’s research, development and innovation activities will strengthen our security and create new business opportunities for Finnish technology companies. Organising these events in Finland is possible thanks to our strong innovation ecosystems.”
Finland’s Ministry of Defence will act as the national authority responsible for the testing events. It has authorised Digital Defence Ecosystem and the Defence Innovation Network Finland (DEFINE) to organise the events series together with Borderland Europe, Business Joensuu, Business Oulu and Business Turku.
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Image: Finnish Ministry of Defence