The UK-led Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) are ready to test their ability to respond rapidly to threats, say the Royal Navy.
The next stage of the two-month deployment will see Royal Marines and Royal Navy ships work with JEF allies from Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia.
The Royal Navy say that the next stage will involve covert amphibious raids, urban ambushes and counter-mine training. More than 3,000 British troops and 16 ships are currently deployed.
“A JEF task group would probably be first on the scene in Northern Europe because we’re already in the area where the crisis is,” Commodore James Parkin, Task Group Commander, said.
“We are designed to fit into a larger NATO task group, but we can operate independently should we need to.”
During this next phase according to the MoD, Royal Engineer Commandos will also conduct urban defensive training with Latvian Armed Forces.
“These latest tests will play a big role in helping the nine-nation JEF work together in the future, forging better working relationships and understanding of how each other function and operate.”
It is a chance for JEF – made up of the armed forces from the UK, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden – to demonstrate solidarity and commitment to the region say the Royal Navy.
How much information is shared with countries like Russia about our future training schedules so they don’t think any military build-ups are actual hostile acts?
Obviously training missions are planned years in advance and political events move much faster and we can be inn situations where training events are planned in areas that are completely calm and then when they happen are in a bit of a pickle.
Do we just give them notice not to worry or are training exercises called off if it may cause a bit of a fuss?
I’m pretty sure we warn the necessary nations to our intentions.