Now, as Gripens and Rafales roar into the blue, spring sky, there is barely any frost left.
“More and more air forces are coming to Luleå,” said Stefan Kaarle, a pilot who’s been in the Swedish air force for 30 years. “It’s a pretty important area of the world right now and many NATO countries want to show that they can operate from the high north.”
Sweden’s proximity to Russia, and previously the Soviet Union, pushed Swedish pilots to learn how to land on roads and highways — a technique that requires specific logistics and support. Such a skill could be useful for other NATO allies because it limits reliance on airfields, which can be more easily targeted by enemy forces.
“We don’t necessarily need that in France, but it’s good to have several strings to our bow,” said Colonel Frédéric Dalorso, the deputy head of the Pégase High North mission.
One of the French mission’s objectives, he explained, is to rehearse NATO’s regional defense plans. The French worked to improve their Agile Combat Employment skills — a NATO scheme of maneuver that implies flying fast and far — while the Swedes train to refuel their warplanes from the French MRTT.
Air-to-air refueling has been identified as a key capability gap for Europeans if the U.S. disengages from the continent.
In Luleå, Sweden and France worked on cross-maintenance and logistics by using local mechanics and local spare parts, for example aircraft tires. More broadly, Pégase High North’s aim is also to identify preferred areas for NATO’s regional defense plans.
“That way, if we need to deploy in six months or a year, the contacts will have already been made,” Dalorso said.