US warships now in the Baltic Sea before BALTOPS when Sweden, Finland go through the NATO membership process
At least three US warships are operating in the Baltic Sea ahead of two weeks of international exercises in the region, according to the US Sixth Fleet.
Large deck amphibious warship USS Kearsarge (LHD-3), amphibious USS Gunston Hall (LSD-44), USS guided missile fighter Seriously (DDG-107) and the command ship USS Mount Whitney (LCC-20) are active in the Baltic Sea ahead of the exercise series BALTOPS 22, USNI News has learned.
Gunston Hall and Seriously made a call in Helsinki, Finland last Friday.
“Before their port visit, Gunston Hall and Seriously carried out extensive operations with allies and partners in the Baltic Sea, including a series of maneuvering exercises with the Finnish and Swedish fleets, ”reads a statement from the 6th Fleet.
Last week, Kearsarge and parts of the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Force drilled in the Estonian-led Siil – Estonian for hedgehog – exercise around the island of Saaremaa, the city of Pärnu on the west coast of Estonia and the city of Võru, about 150 km from the Russian border.
“The exercise scenario will consist of an amphibious landing followed by a multi-day strength training exercise, as well as the execution of a vertical attack raid,” the navy said in a press release on the Estonian-led exercise.
Since the end of the February invasion of Ukraine by Russia, the United States has increased its ships to Europe.
The exercises with the Baltic nations will precede the NATO-led BALTOPS 22 exercise, which will be held in Sweden this year.
In addition to the USA, countries in the exercise include Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Turkey and the United Kingdom.
“Over 45 ships, more than 75 aircraft and approximately 7,000 personnel will participate in BALTOPS 22,” a NATO statement said.
The exercise will include “amphibious operations, cannon shooting, anti-submarine and air defense exercises, as well as demining operations, disposal of explosive ammunition, unmanned vehicles and medical response.”
The US contingent for BALTOPS will include Kearsarge, Gunston Hall and the Rota, Spain-based fighter USS with guided missiles Porter (DDG-78), Navy officials told USNI News on Tuesday.
The 51st iteration of the exercise comes when long-term participants Sweden and Finland have started the process of joining NATO in the middle of Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Swedish officials in particular have demanded that the United States act more in the Baltic Sea, a move that the leaders of the navy and naval corps have supported, USNI News reported.
“I look forward to the possibility of Sweden and Finland joining NATO and I anticipate a day when we will actually expand our maritime operations in the Baltic Sea,” Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro told the House Appropriations Defense Committee earlier in May.
While the majority of the alliance with 30 countries supports the entry of the two Nordic countries, Turkey continues to raise objections to both Sweden’s and Finland’s protection of what Ankara calls terrorist organizations, including the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), and the ceasefire. export.
On Tuesday, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that Turkey will not allow Finland and Sweden to join unless Helsinki and Stockholm agree to “stop supporting the PKK and other groups, prevent them from organizing events on their territory, extradite “those wanted by the PKK and other groups. Turkey for terrorist allegations, support Ankara’s military and counter – terrorism operations and lift all arms export restrictions.” according to Reuters.