NATO forces began conducting a two-week exercise on the Baltic Sea, with the first ships departing from the north-eastern German port of Rostock on Thursday morning.
Among the vessels setting off from the Rostock-Warnemünde naval base were the German corvette Magdeburg and the French minesweeper Vulcain.
Dubbed BALTOPS, the US-led annual exercise involves around 50 vessels, more than 25 aircraft and about 9,000 soldiers from 17 countries. It is set to run until June 20.
The Baltic Sea is considered strategically important, especially in light of the ongoing Russian war against Ukraine.
Russia is the only one of the nine countries with a Baltic Sea coastline that is not a NATO member.
Moscow has criticized the exercise, calling it a provocation. The Russian fleet also conducted exercises in the Baltic Sea in recent days.
Later on Thursday, two German Eurofighters were scrambled in response to a Russian reconnaissance aircraft over the Baltic Sea.
The incident occurred just as the alliance commenced the naval exercise.
The Ilyushin IL-20 was flying in international airspace without a recognized signal or radio contact, a spokesman said.
NATO alerted the German air force’s quick reaction alert unit at Rostock-Laage airbase.
This marked the sixth emergency take-off by the air force this year amidst heightened tensions in the Baltic Sea region, fuelled by recent espionage attempts and suspected sabotage.
BALTOPS has been conducted for over 50 years, but this year marks the first time it starts from Rostock, which is the seat of the German Navy Command.
The exercise offers a unique opportunity to strengthen cooperation within the alliance while simultaneously demonstrating robust deterrence, NATO said.
