National Armed Forces participate in military exercise "Northern Coasts 2023"

From 7 to 24 September, the German Navy is conducting the international military exercise Northern Coasts 2023 throughout Latvia and the Baltic Sea.

The aim of the exercise is to train and improve interoperability and operational integration between naval, land and air forces, as well as procedures for requesting naval indirect fire support to ensure the fulfilment of defined defence tasks within the framework of the NATO Collective Defence Plan.

Together with Latvian soldiers and airmen, Northern Coasts 2023 will involve around 30 ships, submarines, 15 aircraft and 3,200 soldiers from the USA, Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, the Netherlands, Sweden and the partner country, the United States. 

As part of the exercise, 26 allied warships will arrive in the Freeport of Riga from 7 to 11 September.

The Northern Coasts 2023 exercise will also involve NATO Standing Maritime Group 1 (SNMG1), NATO Standing Maritime Mine Countermeasures Group 1 (SNMCMG1) and NATO Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF).

The exercise will be conducted by the newly established Command Structure, the German Naval Headquarters, based in Rostock, Germany. 

The training operations will demonstrate interoperability and combat readiness of NATO Member States, reinforcing NATO's collective defence principles and contributing to deterrence.

Military exercises in the Baltic Sea have been held regularly since 2007.