Main image: The UK's nuclear submarines will play a key role in the nuclear umbrella. Photo shows the Royal Navy's Astute-class nuclear submarine HMS Artful anchored at a naval base in Scotland. Image: Iain Masterton / AOP
The United Kingdom has offered Finland and other members of the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) nuclear protection, Yle reported. The proposal involves an additional deterrence mechanism that would operate beyond the framework of NATO, with British nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines playing a key role in providing the “nuclear umbrella”.
The proposal was discussed during a visit to Finland by First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff General Gwyn Jenkins. He met with Heikki Autto, chair of the Finnish parliament’s Defence Committee, and said that British nuclear weapons would in future underpin the deterrence system for combat units being established within the JEF.
The JEF is a UK-led military partnership that includes the Nordic countries — Denmark, Iceland, Norway, Finland and Sweden — the Baltic states of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, as well as the Netherlands. The countries plan to sign an agreement establishing new JEF combat units at a meeting in Oslo in November.
According to Jenkins, deploying these forces would not require the activation of NATO’s Article 5 collective defence clause, which applies in the event of an attack against a member of the Alliance.
Autto described the JEF as the third pillar of Finland’s defence, alongside its national defence capabilities and NATO membership. He said the creation of the new combat forces was linked to assessments of the long-term threat posed by Russia, which have formed the basis of the allies’ joint defence planning.
Finland, however, does not plan to station nuclear weapons on its territory during peacetime. According to Autto, the country’s existing policy on this issue will remain unchanged.
Earlier this month, Finland also joined a French nuclear deterrence initiative. Cooperation will include consultations on nuclear doctrine, exercises and the presence of French strategic air forces in the country.
Norway, Sweden and Denmark have already taken similar steps, while Estonia and Lithuania are also planning to participate.
