A new NATO command unit will be established in Riihimäki, Finland
A new NATO command centre will be established in the Finnish city of Riihimäki. It will be the alliance's third headquarters in Finland and will specialise in telecommunications and information technology, according to Yle.
Finnish Defence Minister Antti Hekkonen said that the unit's deployment will strengthen NATO's ability to defend Finland and the northern part of the alliance's territory. According to him, it will also strengthen the role of the Riihimäki garrison as a centre of excellence in the field of command and control systems.
"My decision on the location is based on an overall assessment of national defence. I have taken into account NATO's requirements and Finland's defence prospects," the minister said in a statement from the Ministry of Defence.
The unit in Riihimäki will provide telecommunications and information system services to support NATO's troop and command levels in Finland and other alliance countries.
In practice, the unit will create communication systems that can be placed in mobile containers if necessary.
The new unit will employ 60 people. It will be part of NATO's command structure. Part of the costs of building, establishing and maintaining the unit will be financed by NATO.
Defence Ministry adviser Jukka Pekka Virtanen said the new unit is important for Finland.
"This is what Finland has been striving for. As for Riihimäki, it supports the development of control systems expertise in the region. The operational environment in Riihimäki serves the future unit well," he said.
According to Virtanen, the choice of Riihimäki as the location for the unit was obvious.
There are currently two NATO headquarters operating in Finland. One is located in Rovaniemi and the other in Mikkeli.
Mikkeli is home to NATO's Multi Corps Land Component Command for the northern region. A multinational headquarters for NATO's Forward Land Forces is being established in Rovaniemi.
The new unit in Riihimäki will begin operations next year in temporary premises. Construction of permanent infrastructure on the garrison's territory has already begun.
The goal is to complete construction by 2029. Funding will come from NATO.
The new unit is expected to liaise with alliance units in Rovaniemi and Mikkeli.
Timo Heynonen, a member of the Finnish Parliament's Defence Committee, said that the location of the NATO command and control unit in Riihimäki is an important decision for the region.
According to him, the new unit, together with the Defy centre and the activities of the Finnish Defence Forces, can contribute to the development of innovation, the defence industry and expertise in the Kanta-Häme region.
At the same time, NATO's Cold Response 26 military exercises have begun in Finland. They are taking place in the northern regions of Finland, Norway and Sweden.
About 25,000 military personnel from 14 allied countries are participating in the exercises led by Norway.
In Finland, 7,500 military personnel are involved in the exercises, of whom slightly less than half are Finnish. In addition, about 4,000 military personnel from Sweden, the United States, France, Italy and the United Kingdom have arrived in the country.
The Multinational Staff Element of NATO's advanced land forces is operating in Rovaniemi. The unit consists of about 50 officers, most of whom represent Sweden and Finland.
The Multi Corps Land Component Command, NATO's land forces headquarters for Northern Europe, is located in Mikkeli. It began operating alongside the Finnish Army Headquarters on 1 September 2025.
The unit employs 45 to 50 officers from Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, the United States and the United Kingdom.
The unit in Riihimäki will operate under the NATO Communications and Information Systems Group. From the beginning of 2027, it will employ 60 specialists from Finland.
