Royal Marines have carried out covert boarding operations within the jap Baltic Sea as a part of preparations for a brand new NATO function centered on rapid-response particular operations, the Royal Navy said.
The deployment, referred to as Train Baltic Daybreak, marks the ultimate stage of coaching for the UK’s Particular Operations Maritime Process Group (SOMTG).
From subsequent yr, the unit will present NATO with a maritime drive able to deploying at quick discover to conduct missions comparable to recapturing vessels, securing offshore infrastructure, and finishing up covert coastal raids.
The duty group brings collectively Royal Navy and Commando Power specialists, together with pilots, engineers, and boat operators. Its validation for front-line duties with NATO’s Allied Response Power is scheduled for January 2026.
Throughout Baltic Daybreak, personnel from Plymouth-based 42 and 47 Commando launched small boats from assist ship RFA Lyme Bay to conduct boarding drills earlier than linking up with the British Military’s 3 Ranger Battalion for a joint raid on Saaremaa, an island off Estonia’s west coast.
“Train Baltic Daybreak reaffirmed what Commando Forces have at all times stood for – the power to strike unpredictably from the ocean, wherever, at any time,” mentioned Main Adam Kidson, Officer Commanding SOMTG. “By working from a Royal Fleet Auxiliary platform and conducting advanced Maritime Interdiction Operations, we’ve expanded our attain and suppleness.”
He added that “the spirit of adaptability and relentless pursuit of excellence” proven by his troops ensured the duty group was prepared for NATO’s upcoming analysis.
In accordance with the Royal Navy, Baltic Daybreak is a part of Train Tarassis, a wider collection of multinational navy actions beneath the Joint Expeditionary Power (JEF) framework. Unfold throughout Norway, Finland, Latvia, and the jap Baltic, Tarassis includes hundreds of troops, plane, and ships working throughout northern Europe to check allied cooperation and readiness.
The Military’s Particular Operations Brigade additionally took half. An unnamed Officer Commanding Particular Operations Process Group B mentioned within the assertion that “Train Baltic Daybreak offered a possibility for a Particular Operations Land Process Group to allow a Maritime Process Group infiltrating over the seaside to efficiently conduct a joint raid.”
The Royal Navy said that the Baltic drills observe a separate Arctic deployment, throughout which Royal Marines skilled with Norwegian forces to refine amphibious operations and logistics in cold-weather situations. Each workout routines type a part of the UK’s contribution to strengthening NATO’s northern flank and testing new methods of integrating land and maritime particular operations forces.