NATO summit 2026: France to contribute troops to Forward Land Forces Finland

Ceremony held in Boden, Sweden, on 6 June to stand up NATO's FLF Finland. (Swedish Armed Forces/Mats Carlsson)

Rotations of French ground forces, including a combat unit, will be integrated into NATO's Forward Land Forces (FLF) Finland and deployed to its area of operations, France, Sweden, and Finland announced in joint statements on 7-8 July 2026 during the NATO summit held in Ankara.

In addition, France plans to train with different capabilities with the FLF Finland battlegroup on a temporary basis, depending on the requirements of the force at the time.

The FLF regularly trains and operates in northern Finland, and the necessary infrastructure and forward stockpiling are being established for it, the Finnish Ministry of Defence (MoD) said in a press release on 8 July.

The Swedish MoD added on its website the same day that Denmark, Iceland, Italy, Norway and the UK had also expressed their intention to contribute to FLF Finland.

The force, including the alliance's ninth and newest multinational battlegroup, was stood up during a ceremony at the Swedish Army's Norrbotten Regiment's base in Boden, Sweden, on 6 June 2026.

Led by framework nation Sweden, FLF Finland is composed of a Swedish battlegroup based in Boden and a permanent headquarters with a multinational staff element in Rovaniemi, Finland, under the command of US Air Force General Alexus Grynkewich, NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR).

FLF Finland will be able to be upscaled to a brigade, with regular exercises to train as a formation stronger than a battalion-sized battlegroup, according to the Finnish MoD. Sweden will contribute around 600 soldiers from the battalion-sized battlegroup normally based in Boden.

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NATO's Forward Land Forces Finland stood up