According to Admiral Alexander Nosatov, NATO plans to conduct more than 20 exercises in the region, during which the ship grouping can be increased to 30-40 ships
MOSCOW, May 17. /TASS/. The US Navy's Arleigh Burke-class URO destroyers are on permanent combat duty in the Baltic and North Seas. This was announced by the commander of the Baltic Fleet, Admiral Alexander Nosatov, in an interview with the Krasnaya Zvezda newspaper.
"Two groups of joint naval forces of NATO countries, numbering up to 15 warships and support vessels, operate in the region on a permanent basis. In the Baltic and North Seas, the US Navy's Arleigh Burke - class destroyers, which are part of the European missile Defense system, are on constant combat duty, "Nosatov said.
According to him, NATO also plans to conduct more than 20 exercises in the region, including large-scale ones, during which the ship grouping can be increased to 30-40 ships. "For example, this year, the NATO countries, together with Sweden and Finland, will hold the exercise" Northern Coasts - 2021", where a group of up to 30 ships and 40 aircraft will be involved, " Nosatov said.
The commander of the Baltic Fleet said that Poland intends to conduct three exercises in the immediate vicinity of the Kaliningrad region: "Ostrobok", "Vargach" and "Kormoran", which will involve up to 20 ships and submarines, as well as aircraft.
"In all these exercises, Russia is often seen as a source of potential threats," he said.
Fleet Combat Training Plan
Nosatov said that the ships of the Baltic Fleet in 2021 will make seven long-distance trips, three of which are to the far sea zone.
"In terms of combat training, he (2021-approx. TASS) will be very tense. By the end of the year, our ships will have to make seven long-distance trips, three of which are to the far sea zone. Baltic sailors will visit the foreign ports of Tartus (Syria), Limassol (Cyprus), Port Sudan (Sudan), Muscat (Oman)," Nosatov said.
He noted that the fleet personnel will conduct more than 34 exercises of different directions, including 10 special exercises by type of training.
"The most large-scale event, and the crowning achievement of the combat training of the fleet forces and troops in the summer training period, will be the joint Russian-Belarusian exercise "West-2021", in which the Baltic Fleet will take a direct part," he stressed.
