Bold Quest 19.1
The multinational joint fires interoperability demonstration and assessment event took place in Finland. The main location was the town of Sodankylä.
Finland was the host nation of Bold Quest 19.1 held in April-May 2019. Bold Quest 19.1 was a multinational joint fires interoperability demonstration and assessment event sponsored and facilitated by the United States Joint Staff.
The main location was the town of Sodankylä, from where the Finnish Defence Forces, together with the US Joint Staff, led the demonstration and assessment activities taking place in multiple locations around Finland and around the world.
Bold Quest is formally known as the Coalition Capability Demonstration and Assessment, in which Nations, Services and Programs pool their resources to improve interoperability and information sharing. Multiple command locations, systems and virtual simulators will take part in the event from outside Finland via established joint and coalition distributed networks.
The live fires portion of the demonstration took place in the Rovajärvi Firing Range. Air operations took place from the Rissala and Rovaniemi airfields, and were centred around the Rovajärvi area and Rissala environs. Also, other army, navy and air force training areas were used, as well as the garrison areas of Sodankylä, Rissala, Riihimäki and Turku.
Approximately 700 Finnish soldiers participated in the event. From abroad Finland hosted approximately 1,500 participants from several countries.
The goal of Bold Quest is to demonstrate and assess the command and control interoperability of joint fires sensors and related systems in a multinational operating environment. The event tests and demonstrates the functional and technical interoperability of ground, sea and air-based intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) and joint fires systems. Some of the demonstration fires will be live-fire exercises and some simulated.
Follow the event
on Facebook and Twitter #boldquest
www.youtube.com/DefenceForcesFinland
Questions and Answers - click on the question to see the answer
Bold Quest, formally known as the Coalition Capability Demonstration and Assessment, is a multinational series of events in which Nations, Services and Programs pool their resources to demonstrate and assess the command and control of joint fires, and the functional and technical interoperability of ground, sea and air-based ISR and joint fires systems.
In addition to the US military services, allies and partners of the Bold Quest series are also invited to the main Bold Quest events. The size and focus of the assessment events change annually.
The main Bold Quest events have been organised annually since 2003. They have been organised outside the United States two times before. The event was organised in the United Kingdom in 2005 and in Norway in 2010. Finland has participated in Bold Quest since 2010.
The goal of the Defence Forces’ command system development programme has been to improve the interoperability of national fires, command and ISR systems. Bold Quest is an opportunity to assess and verify the international interoperability of the systems.
An event organised in Finland offers the Finnish Defence Forces the opportunity to test and practise the principles and execution of Host Nation Support with the practical arrangements of the troops arriving in Finland.
A number of European countries regularly participate in this event, so the organisers have wanted to make it easier for them to participate by organising it occasionally in Europe. This also provides an opportunity to test the functionality and availability of operating procedures and systems in new environments. The Rovajärvi Firing Range Area is well-suited for hosting the event.
The U.S. Joint Staff sponsors and facilitates the Bold Quest planning process. Each participating country drafts their own assessment goals based on their own needs.
Finland sets its own national goals for Bold Quest. As the host nation, Finland will also make the decisions concerning activities taking place in its territory. The systems coming to Finland will undergo a normal entry process that takes into account the conditions and constraints set by Finland.
A senior steering group has been established for the collaborative planning and preparation of Bold Quest activities in Finland, as well as working groups, that all have representatives from both Finland and the United States. During the execution phase of the event the Host Nation role will be more pronounced.
