Finland's defence has long relied on dispersed operations, where stretches of ordinary public road can be turned into temporary airstrips for aircraft. Most of the time these roads carry everyday traffic, suffer from frost heave, snow-plough damage and potholes, and are maintained to civilian standards. When they are needed in a real crisis, however, the surface must be flawless – at short notice, possibly in the middle of winter, at night, or after deliberate damage. New mobile technologies, such as equipment that produces hot asphalt on site and enables permanent repairs even in freezing conditions, open up new possibilities for closing the gap between everyday maintenance and crisis readiness.

This project explores how the condition of a road airstrip can be ensured so that it is landing-ready exactly when it is needed. What does "landing-ready" actually mean for a road surface, and how could its condition be monitored continuously instead of inspected only before use? How might sensors, drones, vehicle-based scanning or AI image analysis detect damage in real time? How fast could a stretch of road be inspected, repaired and cleared in the harshest conditions, and what mobile capacity, logistics and people would it require? How might civilian road-maintenance companies become part of national preparedness, and could the same capability create everyday value for rescue services, emergency helicopter landings or disaster response?

The repair technology already exists – the missing piece is the future system around it. This project aims to create a future vision of road airstrip readiness in the form of scenarios, concept designs and service models, combining engineering, security, logistics, service design and business perspectives.