Army Sgt. Makayla Sodergren, a crew chief, and Sgt. Johnathan Welch, a gunner, both with 1st Battalion, 6th Field Artillery Regiment, show off their Multiple Launch Rocket System during exercise Dynamic Front in Rovajavri, Finland on Nov. 20, 2024. (Lydia Gordon/Stars and Stripes)

ROVANIEMI, Finland — The U.S. Army’s 1st Battalion, 6th Field Artillery Regiment is no stranger to the High North, but this time its soldiers brought an attention-getting newcomer with them.

The M270A2 Multiple Launch Rocket System made its debut in the field over the past couple of weeks during Dynamic Front, NATO’s largest artillery exercise, and the 41st Field Artillery Brigade soldiers in Finland are having some fun with the opportunity.

The brigade trained in Norway earlier this year and Finland in May 2023. It’s becoming a regular visitor to the Arctic, with another exercise in Norway scheduled for February.

The regiment’s motto, “swift and bold,” has jokingly been altered to “swift and cold” amid the below-freezing temperatures.

Thursday marked the brigade’s final day of live fire for exercise Dynamic Front, which stretches across the alliance’s eastern flank and includes additional artillery sites in Estonia, Germany, Poland and Romania.

The approximately 440 soldiers in Finland are among the first in the Army to field the upgraded rocket systems, brigade commander Col. Frank Maxwell said. 

Army Sgt. Johnathan Welch, a gunner with 1st Battalion, 6th Field Artillery Regiment, sits in the cabin of the recently acquired M270A2 Multiple Launch Rocket System during exercise Dynamic Front in Rovajavri, Finland on Nov. 20, 2024. The A2 contains a more spacious cab, allowing soldiers to do their jobs more comfortably for days at a time. (Lydia Gordon/Stars and Stripes)

The M270A2 Multiple Launch Rocket System was fielded for the first time outside of Germany for exercise Dynamic Front in Rovajavri, Finland. The 20-day exercise north of the Arctic Circle gave soldiers a new environment to test out the upgraded systems of the A2, which they began receiving in July. (Lydia Gordon/Stars and Stripes)

U.S. soldiers stage the M270A2 Multiple Rocket Launch System for the first of their live-fire drills during exercise Dynamic Front on Nov. 17, 2024. (Lydia Gordon/Stars and Stripes)

The rubber tracks on the M270A2 Multiple Launch Rocket System have been removed to better suit the icy terrain of northern Finland as soldiers with the 41st Field Artillery Brigade train for exercise Dynamic Front. (Lydia Gordon/Stars and Stripes)

Army Pvt. Bradford Shepard, a driver with 1st Battalion, 6th Field Artillery Regiment, sits in his Multiple Launch Rocket System during exercise Dynamic Front on Nov. 20, 2024. Drivers have had to adapt to icy terrain throughout the exercise while learning to maneuver the systems. (Lydia Gordon/Stars and Stripes)

“That enables us to deliver fires more quickly and more accurately in support of what we need, and (perform tasks) that the A1s just weren’t capable of,” Maxwell said. The A2 variant boasts an extended firing range, upgraded communication systems and a larger cab that improves crew comfort.

It can fire the Army Tactical Missile System, or ATACMS, which is now being launched from a different system by Ukraine following the White House’s recent authorization for Kyiv to use the longer-range missile to strike deeper into Russia.

Training in the Arctic has presented its challenges. The icy, rugged terrain of Lapland forced soldiers to adapt and remain vigilant to avoid equipment damage and operational delays.

“The main difficulty, I would say, is when we are looking for (cover),” said Pvt. Bradford Shepard, an A2 driver. “It’s the rocks, because we don’t want to throw a track or damage anything. And then we have how icy it is.”

They found solutions by removing the rubber pads from the system’s tracks, improving traction and maneuverability.

The U.S. has been training with 27 other nations during the 20-day exercise. Finland shares an 830-mile-long border with Russia, whose full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 prompted the Finnish government to end decades of official neutrality and seek NATO membership.