NATO joins Swedish naval exercise SWENEX in the waters of Skagerak and Baltic Sea.

SNMG1 (Standing NATO Maritime Group One) with the flagship HNoMS Otto Sverdrup and FGS Rhon played the role of a simulated adversary to the Swedish naval forces who defended Swedish territory from the intruders. Swedish Navy brought 15 warships, 80 small boats and 2,000 sailors together with helicopters and small airplanes to the exercise.
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SNMG1 flagship HNoMS Otto Sverdrup in formation with Swedish naval vessels and helicopters during exercise SWENEX 20, off the southern coast of Sweden, Baltic Sea, 20 May 2020. (Photo by: SNMG1 PAO, NOR Navy)

“Even though Sweden is not a NATO nation, we train and exercise together. I find our participation in this exercise important and extremely valuable. Sweden and NATO share the same interest of peace and stability in the Baltic, with safe and secure sea lines of communication for all. Knowing each other’s capacities, procedures and ways of communicating is important for us to be able to work together in a possible situation that demands common effort from both NATO and Sweden” said Commander of SNMG1, Commodore Yngve Skoglund.

After a spring session that has seen several major exercises reduced or even canceled due to COVID-19, SWENEX gave valuable opportunities for training and exercising air defence as well as surface and subsurface scenarios.

SNMG1 will finish of their participation in the exercise with a short stop in the Swedish capital Stockholm this weekend.

In a few weeks another major exercise is due in the Baltic Sea when the annual BALTOPS starts on 7 June. Two NATO groups, SNMG1 and Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group One, will take part and play a vital role in the exercise that is led by Naval Striking and Support Forces NATO (STRIKFORNATO).

Standing NATO Maritime Group One (SNMG1) is one of NATO's standing naval maritime immediate reaction forces. SNMG1 consists of four to six destroyers and frigates. Its role is to provide NATO with an immediate operational response capability.

HNoMS Otto Sverdrup is a Fridtjof Nansen-class frigate of the Royal Norwegian Navy. The FGS Rhon Rhön-class tankers are a series of replenishment oilers used by the German Navy to provide underway replenishment for its ships at sea.