The Navy organises the Open Spirit 2023 international military exercise

From today until 25 May, the Open Spirit 2023 international military exercise takes place in Latvian territorial waters of the Baltic Sea.

The exercise is being conducted by the Latvian Navy's Mine Squadron Diving Team and the Mine Warfare Tactical Support Centre, supported by the Patrol Vessel Squadron KA-14 "Astra". At the same time, the Baltic Naval Squadron (BALTRON) will also deploy the A-53 "Virsaitis", a staff and supply ship.

The aim of the Open Spirit 2023 exercise is to clear the Baltic Sea shipping lanes and fishing grounds of explosive remnants of previous world wars, as well as to improve the participants' knowledge and skills in searching for explosive objects.

A total of 10 vessels from Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Germany and Standing NATO Mine Counter Measures Group One (SNMCMG1), as well as eight teams of divers and underwater robot operators from Latvia, Lithuania, Belgium, the United Kingdom, the United States and Estonia will participate in the exercise. 

"Open Spirit is an annual international military exercise that rotates among the Baltic States.

This year, BALTRON will be commanded by the Latvian Navy ship A-53 Virsaitis, the Lithuanian Navy ship Skalvis, the Estonian Navy ship Ugandi and the German Navy ship Homburg.

The objective of the Baltic Sea Squadron is to ensure the continued readiness of minehunting ships of the Baltic Sea Forces to participate in both national and NATO Response Force operations.

BALTRON is one of the longest-running Baltic cooperation projects, implemented since August 1998. The aim of this cooperation format is to ensure a permanent rapid response capability at sea in peacetime and in times of crisis. The first BALTRON Commander was Sea Captain Ilmārs Lešinskis of the Latvian Navy.

SNMCMG1 is one of the four NATO Standing Maritime Forces Groups. NATO Standing Maritime Groups are the maritime components of NATO Response Forces, which act as a rapid reaction force, capable of conducting immediate operations anywhere. The mission of the NATO Standing Maritime Teams is to provide the Alliance with a permanent maritime operational capability, ready to conduct missions in peacetime and crisis.

SNMCMG1 and SNMCMG2 are multinational units established to conduct mine clearance operations. Both multinational maritime units within the NATO Response Force are capable of conducting mine countermeasures at sea within the Alliance's Rapid Ready Time.

Up-to-date information on the activities of the Navy is available on the Navy's Facebook page @Latvijasjurasspeki and Instagram profile @juras_speki.