In Rovaniemi, Finland, plans have been made to establish a NATO Forward Land Forces Headquarters, to be based in the administrative center of Lapland.
According to Finland’s Minister of Defense Antti Häkkänen, these plans confirm the course toward strengthening defense cooperation among allied nations.
“The headquarters will be the permanent representation of the FLF (Forward Land Forces, NATO’s forward land forces – ed.) in northern Finland. Rovaniemi is an ideal place to host such a headquarters.”
– Antti Häkkänen, Minister of Defense of Finland
Half of the headquarters’ tasks are expected to be carried out by Finland and Sweden, and the other half by other NATO member countries.
The personnel count in Rovaniemi will remain at a few dozen people, as in Mikkeli.
Nature of operations and scale of presence
Most military personnel will arrive in Finland primarily for training. In normal conditions the contingent could number 500–800 service members, but as needed it could be increased to 3,000–5,000 people.
In NATO’s Forward Land Forces operations in Finland, besides Sweden, the United Kingdom, Italy, France and the Nordic countries will participate.
Earlier there were also reports about the launch of the NATO Multi-Corps Land Component Command “North” (MCLCC-N) in the town of Mikkeli on October 3, 2025.