NATO trains submarine hunting in the Baltic Sea

Published 14 November 2024 at 14.34

Domestic. NATO and the Swedish Navy are currently conducting an extensive submarine hunting exercise, called Dynamic Merlin 24, in which around 1,200 people from ten nations are participating.

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The purpose of the exercise is to strengthen cooperation and improve the joint ability to detect and deal with submarines in the difficult conditions prevailing in the Baltic Sea, where the uneven seabed and varying salinities challenge the sonar equipment.

– There are several things that distinguish the Baltic Sea from other sea areas when it comes to searching for things underwater. In part, it is shallow, the bottom is hilly in places and the varying salinity means that the distances at which a submarine can be detected using the sonar are short, says the navy's head of operations, Commander Marko Petkovic on the defense force's website.

Under in the exercise, ships from NATO's standing naval force SNMG1, Swedish corvettes of the Visby- and Gävle-class, a Gotland-class submarine, naval operational helicopters and American submarine-hunting aircraft P-8 Poseidon have participated. An important moment has been the exchange between submarine hunting specialists from different nations on board the Swedish corvette HMS Helsingborg.

– With our knowledge, we increase the capabilities of NATO while we are happy to share our knowledge with allies. In this way, together we make NATO better and strengthen security, says Petkovic.

Dynamic Merlin 24 runs until November 14.