Official press releases, news and speeches that the minister has held are located in this section. The Ministry of Defence publishes all of its press releases and news in Finnish and Swedish and many of them in English, too.
Press Releases
Finland to contribute to safeguarding Denmark’s airspace
On the proposal of the Government, the President of the Republic has decided that the Finnish Defence Forces will contribute to safeguarding Denmark’s airspace.
The decision is a response to Denmark’s request to Finland to participate in safeguarding the integrity of the Danish airspace and in countering drones during the international meetings taking place in Copenhagen.
Finland will deploy to Denmark a detachment capable of identifying and countering drones. The Finnish detachment will be placed under the command and control of Denmark, and the Danish authorities will assume the overall command of the operation.
“By joining the operation we send a concrete message of support to another Nordic country and NATO Ally. Drones are a topical threat, and Finland has strong capability in countering them,” Minister of Defence Antti Häkkänen says.
The decision was prepared by the Ministry of Defence in accordance with the Act on Decision-Making on International Assistance, Cooperation or Other International Activities (418/2017).
Interview requests for Minister Häkkänen: Dani Niskanen, Special Adviser, tel. +358 41 544 4967. Requests for further information: Ronni Läpinen, Senior Specialist, tel. +358 295 140 184, firstname.lastname@gov.fi.