Baltic boost: NATO steps up security amid rising tensions
Mark Rutte, the NATO Secretary General, announced that a Baltic Sentry will be established to enhance security in the Baltic Sea. This initiative will involve frigates, patrol aircraft, and other types of weaponry. We explore the equipment available to NATO's Baltic states.
The establishment of the Baltic Sentry aims to address the increasing security challenges in the Baltic Sea region, which include a series of concerning incidents such as damage to underwater power and telecommunication cables. Suspicion often falls on Russia, whose "research vessels" frequently appear in the Baltic and North Seas. In recent months, there has also been an increase in Russian submarines in the Baltic. The Sentry, mentioned in NATO's communiqué, will be responsible not only for supervision but also for deterrence activities.
NATO will establish the Baltic Guard
"Baltic Sentry will engage a range of resources, including frigates and maritime patrol aircraft. The Secretary General also announced the deployment of new technologies in the region, including a small fleet of marine drones, and emphasized that NATO will work with member states to integrate national surveillance resources—all to improve the capability to protect critical underwater infrastructure and respond when needed," the NATO communiqué stated.
Naval forces of the Baltic states: What do they have?
The German Navy, theoretically the strongest in the region, possesses six Type 212A submarines, five corvettes, and as many as eleven frigates. The largest and most modern units, such as the four Baden-Württemberg-class frigates, are designed for expeditionary operations and asymmetrical conflicts. However, Germany must split its forces between two bodies of water—the Baltic Sea and the North Sea.
The Swedish navy, on the other hand, has seven small corvettes, five of which are newer and larger Visby-class vessels with a displacement of 660 tons (rounded to 730 US tons). Stockholm's submarine fleet consists of one older A17-class unit and three of the A19 (Gotland) class, although plans to replace them with modern A26 Blekinge-class submarines are significantly delayed.
The Finnish navy has eight small missile boats with a displacement of 250 tons (rounded to 280 US tons), indicating their limited potential.
Problems of NATO countries in the Baltic
In practice, NATO countries, except Germany and to a limited extent Poland, do not have the ability to conduct permanent and weather-independent surveillance in the Baltic Sea. They also lack effective means of detecting and combating Russian submarines, as land-based aircraft and helicopters are insufficient compared to larger, more versatile maritime vessels. Mark Rutte did not specify whether or how large NATO reinforcements from other regions would appear in the Baltic Sea as part of the Baltic Sentry.
