Finland to establish military space operations center at Tikkakoski

In a post on X, the Finnish minister said that the Defence Forces' Space Operations Centre will be located at the Air Force Headquarters in Tikkakoski. It will start operating on January 1, 2027.

“It will serve as the command and control of defence space activities and the space operations of the Finnish Defence Forces, while also developing the Defence Forces’ space capabilities,” an official statement reads.

The center will initially employ 20 personnel, and the number will increase in the coming years.

“The founding of a space operations centre is part of a broader process to improve Finland’s defence by reinforcing the Finnish Defence Forces’ space capabilities. It is also our response to the growing importance of space as an operational domain for defence,” Minister Häkkänen said.

The Ministry of Defence is also preparing a space strategy for defence to create a long-term vision for developing space defence in the defence administration. The strategy is nearly complete, and the establishment of the space operations centre is one of the first tangible steps towards reaching the objectives set out in the strategy. 

The priorities and objectives for space defence are outlined in the Government Defence Report. As part of its Programme, the Government has also adopted a Space Strategy, which sets out Finland’s vision and objectives for space activities through 2030, highlighting the importance of the space economy, security and defence policy, and security of supply.

Earlier, it was reported that Finland's Licensing and Supervision Agency had ordered Google's subsidiary, Tuike Finland Oy, to suspend environment-altering preparatory work at two planned data center sites in Muhos and Kajaani until environmental impact assessments are completed.