Germany plans to create a rapid response task force with Baltic Sea countries to share information and coordinate responses to hybrid threats involving the sea, air, cyberspace and critical infrastructure.
NATO has launched the BALTOPS naval exercise in the Baltic Sea, involving more than 6,000 personnel, 30 vessels and 15 countries. The drills focus on protecting maritime traffic, freedom of navigation and regional security.
Sweden is conducting the Aurora 26 military exercise with NATO allies and Ukraine, focusing on the defence of Gotland and the Baltic Sea region. The drills involve 18,000 personnel and test allied reinforcement, logistics and drone warfare cooperation.
Sweden will conduct Aurora 26, its largest military exercise of the year, from 27 April to 13 May. The drills will involve over 16,000 personnel and allied forces, focusing on reinforcement operations, coordination, and defence planning under NATO frameworks.
The German Navy has taken delivery of its first NH90 Sea Tiger helicopter, with a total of 31 Sea Tigers planned to replaced the Sea Lynx fleet. The NH90 is equipped with sonar systems and can deploy torpedoes and anti-ship missiles.
At the end of the 2023/2024 financial year, the order backlog stood at €11.7 billion, but the figure has now risen to €18 billion after significant orders from Germany and Singapore.
Damage to submarine communication cables between new NATO members Finland and Sweden and their alliance partners Germany and Lithuania was likely sabotage, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said on Tuesday. “No one believes that these cables were cut by mistake,” Pistorius said in Brussels at an EU defence ministers meeting to discuss the different threats facing the European Union.
Scholz: “At best, it’s the start of a process that could lead to direct talks between Ukraine and Russia. In Switzerland, it will be about the safety of nuclear power plants, grain exports, the issue of prisoner exchanges and the necessary taboo on the use of nuclear weapons. Once again, this is all still in its infancy.”
A squadron of four ships is on an extensive tour of ports in the Arabian Sea, Red Sea, Mediterranean Sea, Atlantic Ocean, North Sea and the Baltic Sea. The ships will also conduct major exercises with Russia, the UK and France.
