JYVÄSKYLÄ, Finland –
Six members of the Virginia Air National Guard participated in Locked Shields 2026, an international cyber defense exercise, April 11-25, 2026, in Jyväskylä, Finland. Virginia’s participation was in support of the State Partnership Program, in which the VNG and Finland have been formally partnered since 2024.
The exercise is one of the largest international live-fire cyber defense exercises, bringing together about 4,000 participants from 40 nations. The six Virginia Airmen joined with their Finnish partners and other allied nations to enhance their skills in defensing against complex cyber threats.
The exercise simulates a realistic, large-scale cyber conflict, testing participants’ technical and strategic capabilities under pressure. The primary objective is to protect the vital services and critical infrastructure of a fictional nation, including power grids, satellite systems, and military networks, against a barrage of real-time cyberattacks.
“The participation of the Virginia Air National Guard in Locked Shields 2026 not only provided an invaluable, high-realism training opportunity but also served to strengthen the SPP relationship with Finland,” said Capt. Muhammad Umair, a cyber warfare operations officer. “By training and operating alongside NATO allies, the Airmen enhanced their interoperability and contributed to the collective defense and readiness of U.S. forces in the European theater.”
Umair and Warrant Officer Keila Auriene were both assigned to the tactical operation center for the exercise, assisting in managing defensive strategy and coordinating incident response. Other members of the VaANG team worked in the continuous monitoring cell.
“In this role, they were responsible for using a suite of advanced cyber tools to hunt for, identify, and report adversary activity across the network, serving as the first line of defense in detecting malicious actions,” said Umair.
Tech. Sgt. Jared Mast was assigned to the special systems team, focusing on defense of operational technology and supervisory control and data acquisition systems.
“His efforts were critical in protecting the industrial control systems that manage physical infrastructure, a key target for adversaries during the exercise,” said Umair.
The Virginia National Guard established a formal partnership with Finland in May 2024 as part of the U.S. National Guard’s State Partnership Program. The partnership was initiated to combine air operations and interoperability defense including defense against cyber threats, information and intelligence operations, combined land forces capability, military assistance and support for disaster operations, and special operations training.
Read more about the VNG’s partnership with Finland at https://vngpao.info/yckwa597.