Navy joins exercise BALTOPS24 with vessels, coastal troops

The Finnish Navy is participating in exercise BALTOPS24 organized in the Baltic Sea from June 5 to June 20 with vessels, coastal troops and staff officers on different command echelons, said Finnish Defence Forces in a press release on Wednesday.

Troops from 17 countries are involved in the exercise the total strength being some 6600 soldiers. Of these, the number of Finnish soldiers is 330 at most.

Minelayer Uusimaa, fast-attack missile craft Hanko and Uusimaa Brigade’s Coastal Jaeger Company are taking part in the exercise.

The overall objective of the exercise is to verify and develop the interoperability of the NATO Alliance member states and to demonstrate the Alliance's commitment to the security and stability of the Baltic Sea region.

The exercise will be led by the Commander of the U.S. 6th Fleet, with STRIKFORNATO (Naval Striking and Support Forces NATO) operating as the maritime headquarters of NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) in charge of its preparations.

Finnish units will operate in the Baltic Sea and the Stockholm Archipelago.

For the vessels, the exercise started in Klaipeda, Lithuania on Wednesday with a harbour phase and ends in Kiel, Germany on 20 June 2024.

The exercise area in the Baltic Sea is large focusing on the coasts of Latvia and Lithuania in the east and on the Polish and German coasts and the surroundings of the Danish island Bornholm in the south. Some of the troops will also train in the Stockholm Archipelago and the Gotland area.

Minelayer Uusimaa and fast-attack craft Hanko are operating in the exercise in a Danish-led international vessel detachment together with Swedish vessels. The operations of minelayer Uusimaa in the exercise is linked to the ongoing Finnish Navy Training Cruise.

Uusimaa Brigade’s Coastal Jaeger Company is taking part in the exercise in the Stockholm Archipelago as a part of a French-led task unit in which the company will operate integrated with a Swedish amphibious battalion.