Finland and the Netherlands participated in Cyber Flag exercise with a joint team

The Defence Forces and the Netherlands Armed Forces trained together in a demanding multinational cyber defence exercise Cyber Flag 26-2 from 13 to 22 July. The exercise was organised by the US Cyber Command, USCYBERCOM at the Joint Warfighting Center in Suffolk, Virginia.

Defence Command Chief of C5, Major General Jarmo Vähätiitto says that the exercise is a part of the advanced cyber partnership between Finland and the United States and that deepens operational cooperation.

– In the building of cyber defence capability, the know-how and procedures of the personnel play a major role. This is long-term work which requires constant updating of skills. As part of developing interoperability with international partners, we exchange know-how from best practices in exercises and everyday routines with the United States and other Allies, Vähätiitto says. 

– Depending on the task, training and familiarising a new person with cyber tasks may take even a year of practice and updating one’s skills on top of the know-how they have already acquired. This kind of exercises provide an opportunity to train personnel not only for demanding cyber operating, but also for exchanging know-how internationally and strengthening trust with partners, Vähätiitto adds.

Commander of the Netherlands Cyber Command, Major General René van den Berg approaches the matter from the same perspective. ¬– Technology evolves in months, threats evolve in weeks, but trust and interoperability are built over years. If we invest consistently in multinational training and exercises, we are not simply improving cyber skills — we are building the collective readiness that underpins credible deterrence and effective defence. Capability integration is ultimately about connecting four elements: people, processes, technology, and partnerships. We often focus on the technology because it evolves the fastest, but enduring operational advantage comes from integrating all four. Training and exercises are where that integration is tested, refined, and transformed into real operational capability.

The exercise entity took a month with the Finnish and Dutch joint team participating in the first two weeks’ portion. In this year’s exercise, the cyber security teams were tasked with protecting the critical infrastructure’s operational system created for the scenario, as well as the data system environment.

Commanding Officer of the Cyber Division of the Finnish Defence Forces C5 Agency, Major (Eng.) Mikko Tuomi brings up, in particular, the fluency of operating with the Allies.

 – It is important to get to participate in the United States flag ship exercise. This was the first time that NATO members Finland and the Netherlands formed a joint team in the exercise. The Dutch surprised us by being so similar to us, and we found common ground right from the first meeting. Cooperation was built rapidly and the team leveraged know-how from both sides, Tuomi says.

 – The team managed to fulfill the assigned task and protect the systems involved. In particular, cyber threats situation awareness was top notch. You have to be where the best ones are, Tuomi adds.

Exercise Cyber Flag 2026 is part of the Defence Forces training and exercise activities 2026. Participation in the exercise was led by the Finnish Defence Forces C5 Agency, FDFC5A with personnel from different Defence Forces organisations taking part in it. Finland has participated in the exercise since 2024.