• Two US F-35 Lightning II aircraft successfully executed a historic landing on a highway in Finland as part of the annual road base exercise BAANA 2024.
• The landing underscores growing cooperation between the US and Finland, emphasizing interoperability among allied forces.
• The exercise aligns with the US Air Force's Agile Combat Employment strategy, which focuses on operating from widely distributed sites to counter global threats.
• NATO is revisiting road-based operations due to the resurgence of Russian aggression and the vulnerability of traditional airbases to modern missile attacks.
• Air forces worldwide, including the Indian Air Force, are enhancing their capabilities to conduct operations from highways, offering tactical advantages and resilience.