COPA Training and Exercises (COPA TEX) will continuously explore possibilities to coordinate and synchronize military training activities among the NORDEFCO nations and facilitate a combined and joint exercise plan.
Common exercises are not new to the Nordic nations, and COPA TEX will ensure the continuation as well as further development of the training and exercise domain. Large scale exercises and some very specialized unit training often prove difficult for the single nations to afford or to be able to arrange. The main priority of COPA TEX is the Combined Joint Nordic Exercise Plan (CJNEP), which is a multi-year exercise plan, put together by the Nordic nations.
COPA TEX is exploring opportunities to further synchronize exercises and strengthening the already strong dialog and cooperation with transatlantic and Baltic countries.
The Nordic countries have a long tradition of open dialogue and sharing of experiences and best practises. COPA TEX is focusing on sharing and exchanging of Lessons Identified/Lessons Learned from exercises and operations amongst the NORDEFCO nations.
COPA TEX is producing a condensed overview of top exercises of significant importance to NORDEFCO. The Top exercises List will have a 2-3 years outlook and cover both tactical and strategic level exercises.
Two examples of valued cooperation in the field of exercise and training are:
Cross Border Training which started in 2009 among Sweden, Finland and Norway. Almost weekly throughout the year, these nations’ Air Forces conduct combined air combat training missions that are flown from their northern home bases. The cost-effective implementation pattern of combined exercises can also be applied to large-force air exercises as the Arctic Challenge Exercise series.
Arctic Challenge Exercise 2019 (ACE 19) was the fourth of its kind hosted by Sweden, Finland and Norway. Nordic cooperation is the core of the execution of ACE19. The multinational exercise has been conducted every other year since 2013. In 2019 Denmark joined the program. The Nordic air power exercise involved more than one hundred aircraft from nine nations training in all possible aspects of multinational air operations. These exercises provide a cost-effective and high-quality opportunity to develop national capabilities and interoperability.