Baltic Unity Day:NATO Allies and Sweden Drill Complex Scenarios

On 13 November 2020 NATO Allies Estonia, Germany, the US and NATO Partner Sweden increased warfighting skillsets in a Baltic air exercise, Baltic Unity Day.Assets deployed in the drills included a US Special Operations Command Europe C-130 transport aircraft;USAF F-15E Strike Eagle fighters and CV-22B Osprey aircraft; German Eurofighter Typhoon fighters;and Swedish Saab JAS-39 Gripen fighters.* Estonian Joint Tactical Air Controllers coordinated Air-Land Integration exercises to practise joint tactics,techniques and procedures in the Baltic Sea Region and on Tapa Range, Estonia. According to NATO Allied Air Command, Sweden and Estonia provided excellent host nation support and tactical expertise.The drills faciltated effective response to any crisis and heightened readiness for collective defence and deterrence.* At the same time,US and Swedish forces conducted a bilateral exercise on land,sea and air.One of the participants was the US Navy Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Ross (DDG 71).It entered Swedish territorial waters in the Baltic Sea. During these bilateral drills, Swedish and US Special Operations Forces joined conventional armed forces of the US and Sweden to evolve and test their capabilities.An anonymous Swedish Navy Commander said: We are the gateway to the Baltic Sea, and it's important to know that we can help defend any and all of our neighbours from Swedish waters.* The Ross will engage with the Swedish Navy,Saab JAS-39 Gripens and F-15E Strike Eagles to assist the joint SOFs with simulated long-range,deep-land strikes.The exercise will also stress anti-surface and Anti-Submarine Warfare,as well as all-weather launch capabilities. According to a USN Special Warfare Combatant Craft Crewmen CWO: It's critical to leverage our strong and strategic partnerships who have close access to the Baltic Sea entrance. We have to know for sure that we can call our assets to respond to threats quickly and together with Partners like Sweden to help defend the region from adversaries in times of crisis.* The USS Ross is forward deployed to Rota, Spain under Task Force 65 in support of NATO's Air Missile Defence architecture.*