Lapland Rescue Department strengthens its drone fleet

Through the Nordic Blood Supply Project, northern Sweden, Norway and Finland will cooperate to secure access to blood during crisis and war in the Nordic region.

The goal is for the regions of the Nordic Calotte to be able to help one another when the need becomes great, SVT writes.

Sweden has been part of the Nordic health preparedness agreement since 2003, but there has been no common arrangement for the blood supply. Different rules and laws in the countries have made the exchange of blood difficult.

”This project is one of the most prioritised preparedness planning initiatives currently udner way up here,” Henrik Brännholm, emergency physician in Region Norrbotten, tells SVT.

During the period October 30 to November 19, two live-fire exercises will be conducted at the Rovajärvi shooting and training range in Lapland, Northern Finland.

First, the Northern Spike anti-tank missile exercise will be held. From November 9, the international artillery exercise Lightening Strike will follow.

The exercise activity will involve a total of around 4,100 people: soldiers from seven units of the Finnish Army, personnel from the Finnish Border Guard and allied troops from Germany, Norway, Sweden, Latvia and the Netherlands.

"The use of fires plays a major role on the modern battlefield. Training joint fires especially with Allied troops enhances interoperability and strengthens Finland’s defence in a considerable way," says the Commandant of the Finnish Army Academy, Colonel Timo Hänninen, who will lead the exercises.

Finland’s Minister of Defence, Antti Häkkänen, has decided to usse a new decree from the Ministry of Defence regarding the use of Defence Forces vehicles.

”With the new decree, we are promoting military mobility in the changed security environment. With the reform, we will ensure that the operating conditions of the Defence Forces, traffic safety and military mobility, which is central to Finland's defence, form a functional whole,” Häkkänen said in a press release from the Ministry.

According to Yle, the reform will make it easier for Norwegian and Swedish military vehicles to enter Finland without special control measures at the border.

The same practice will also be introduced in ports and airports.

Finland’s largest genetic research project, FinnGen, plans to expand its database to include health information on the entire Finnish population, reports Yle.

The expansion could involve data on around 7.1 million people, including diagnoses, hospital visits and laboratory results. FinnGen already holds genetic and health-related data on more than 500,000 Finns.

The plans have raised concerns about privacy and data security. Tomi Voutilainen, a professor of public law, warns that it is unclear to citizens how their data will be processed.

Yle also reports two security breaches involving FinnGen, in 2020 and 2023.

Chief of Defence Command Finland, Lieutenant General Vesa Virtanen visited Boden, Sweden earlier this September.

The topic of the visit was Finnish-Swedish defence cooperation (FISE), particularly from the perspective of Forward Land Forces Finland (FLF Finland).

As HNN has reported, NATO's Forward Land Force Finland (FLF Finland) was officially established during a ceremony in Boden in June 2026.

The core of NATO Forward Land Forces Finland (FLF) is a battle group in the Norrbotten Brigade, in Boden, Northern Sweden. It will be able to move rapidly to Finnish Lapland to conduct operations under a multinational staff element in Rovaniemi.

The Chief of Defence Command Finland inspected the battlegroup and met with its commander.

“The unit specialises in Arctic conditions, which is important not only to Finland but to the entire Alliance’s deterrence and defence. I was impressed, seeing the trained and motivated unit in action”, Lieutenant General Virtanen said.

“Our cooperation with Sweden has advanced steadily, which we can now see as concrete steps in operational planning and activities. I want to thank the Swedes for their commitment. Finland and Sweden are working side-by-side and we are stronger together”, he concluded.

During the visit Lieutenant General Virtanen and his hosts also had broader conversations on developing bilateral cooperation and cooperation in the High North. The conversations also included cooperation on the monitoring and safeguarding of territorial integrity, which Finland announced late August.

Tourism in Finnish Lapland is growing rapidly, and tourism businesses are investing heavily to meet demand.

Apukka Resort in Rovaniemi has more than quintupled its revenue since 2022, reaching around €27 million, according to Finnish broadcaster Yle.

At the same time, the tourism industry fears that such rapid growth could come at the expense of quality.

According to Harri Mällinen, CEO of Apukka Resort, a poor visitor experience could lead tourists to choose other destinations.

"That is my biggest fear right now. If the quality does not remain high, it will reduce tourists’ interest in Lapland," she told Yle.

The industry is also vulnerable to global crises. The war in the Middle East, for example, led to a decline in visitors when airports in the region were closed.

The Finnish Defence Forces will participate in the Denmark-led Arctic Endurance 26 -exercise complex in the Arctic region in early autumn.

That is stated in a press release from the Finnish Defence Forces.

The service personnel that will participate are from the Navy and from the Utti Jaeger Regiment.

"Finland maintains an active posture as a NATO member nation, and takes part in strengthening security in the Arctic region together with its Allies. Participation in the exercise complex will develop the Finnish Defence Forces’ interoperability, information exchange, and competence in the Arctic operating environment," the press release states.

Participation in the exercise will offer the Finnish Defence Forces’ special forces an opportunity to develop their capability to operate in a demanding Arctic environment and to strengthen cooperation with international Allies.

Arctic Endurance is one of the enduring exercises included under NATOs Arctic Sentry. This is NATO's enhanced Vigilance Activity for the High North and aims to strengthen the Alliance's posture and presence in the Arctic region.

This year, the average temperature in March was higher than any other month since records began, according to the Finnish Meteorological Institute.

The average temperature throughout the country was 1.1 degrees Celsius, a new record for March, YLE reports. The previous record, 0.0 degrees Celsius, was set in 2007.

The average temperature for the month ranged from +3 in southwestern Finland to -2.5 in northern Lapland.

The heat caused the snow to melt rapidly in almost all of the country.

In Sodankylä in Lapland, the average temperature was the warmest in over a century, namely -0.7 degrees Celsius.