The exercise focused on reinforcing warfighting capabilities and re-establishing credible deterrence among Allied nations. “Atlantic Trident 25 demonstrated and advanced our deterrence, and it demonstrated that if deterrence fails, the four nations represented here today are ready to win decisively, if required,” said U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Jason Hinds.
Airmen from the participating countries trained in essential ground operations such as airfield repair, logistics, and rapid combat airpower generation. Exercises included multinational hot-pit refuelling and cross-nation aircraft servicing, enabling swift aircraft recovery and launch regardless of national origin.
Combined coalition logistics and joint command and control operations were key elements of the training, reflecting lessons from past missions. This collaborative approach improved coordination and strengthened trust between Allied aircraft and personnel.
“Airmen from our four nations were training together and learning together all in peacetime. Now they’re developing trust across the Alliance at the unit level, down to the individual,” added Hinds.
Hosting the exercise for the first time, Finland played a central role in planning and execution, with activities based at Pirkkala, Rovaniemi, Halli, Kuopio, and Jyväskylä air bases. “Everything we’ve asked of the Finnish in planning this past year, they have responded with ‘that will not be a problem,’” noted Michael Goodwin, USAFE-AFAFRICA Atlantic Trident 25 lead planner.
“This type of exercise, for us, means to train together,” said French Air and Space Force Col. Vincent. “We know we can fight together, and we know we can exchange and distribute our capabilities.”
Air assets from all four nations participated in the exercise, including U.S. F-35A Lightning IIs, F-15E Strike Eagles, and KC-135 Stratotankers; Finnish F/A-18 Hornets; French Rafale, E-3F Sentry, A330 MRTT, and A400M Atlas aircraft; and U.K. Eurofighter Typhoons. These assets trained under the Agile Combat Employment (ACE) model, designed to enable rapid deployment of forces in high-threat environments.
“This exercise was solely focused on readiness, and that’s readiness to win the high-end fight,” said Hinds. “This year, Finland provided us with the opportunity to train and respond in a realistic scenario in defence in the High North, so together, we advanced our air forces’ ability to integrate across the countries – all four of them.”
