"Northern Coasts" 2021: Major international manoeuvre in the Baltic Sea

From 10 September 2021, the Baltic Sea will once again be the venue for one of the most important multinational exercises to improve strategic planning and tactical communication between the participating nations.

The Major manoeuvre "Northern Coasts"is an essential component of cross-force cooperation in the Baltic Sea region. The protection of the northern flank is an elementary focus of the German Navy in its return to national and alliance defence.

More than 2000 soldiers from 14 nations are coming together under the leadership of Sweden this year. Over 30 ships, 10 aircraft and various land units will train the complex interaction of all players in a fictitious situation on land and at sea along Sweden's coastline. The German Navy is deploying the frigate "Hamburg", the minehunting boats "Weilheim" and "Sulzbach-Rosenberg" as well as a boarding team from the naval battalion in Eckernförde headed north.

Large international exercises offer unique opportunities to familiarise yourself with foreign coastal waters. The Baltic Sea in particular is a difficult area to operate in. Straits, inlets and sounds and shallow waters pose a particular challenge. The basic idea of this manoeuvre is to maintain an overview, operate and act together. Nevertheless, the aim of the maritime exercise is to strengthen capabilities, pool national resources in order to carry out combined operations effectively and thereby maintain stability and security in the immediate vicinity.

Background information on "Northern Coasts"

The Northern Coasts" exercise series was launched by the German Navy in 2007 and is supported by NoCo abbreviated. It is the focal point exercise of the German Navy Inspectorate. Every year, Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Finland alternate responsibility for organising the exercise, with Sweden taking on this role this year. This year's participants are: Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the USA.

Of the participating nations, Sweden and Finland are the two countries that do not belong to the North Atlantic Alliance but are members of the EU. For the German Navy, the integration of the Baltic Sea states into a regional maritime security concept is important. To this end, it founded the Baltic Commanders Conference in 2015, in which all naval commanders of the NATO and EU partners in the region participate.