In June, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization would have a large RQ-4D Phoenix unmanned aerial flying devices. This was reported by YLE TV and radio company, citing sources.
According to them, the pilot releases will take place in a few weeks in the Purbkala air base in the southwest of the country. Necessary infrastructure is currently being built. According to Yle, NATO is interested in firing drones from Finnish area, as it will allow longer flights to the northern regions, including in the Norwegian Sea.
The radius of the flight of RQ-4D Phoenix intelligence produced by the American company Northrop Grumman is 16 thousand km. According to the NATO website, they can climb up to 18 km high and without landing to stay in autonomous flight for more than 30 hours.
According to Yle, RQ-4D Phoenix is currently located on the Italian island of Sicily, but from the fall of 2023 they will regularly enter the airspace of Finland.
The sources of the TV and radio company noted that the alliance is discussing the possibility of creating a second base for its reconnaissance drones, although a decision on the start of construction and the possible deployment of the base has not yet been made.
Earlier, the Finnish authorities offered to place such a base in its territory. As mentioned, Purbkala is considered the most appropriate place for it. Norway and Poland are also interested in the project.
