NATO ships prepare for exercise Northern Coasts in Copenhagen

Ships from NATO’s Standing Maritime Group 1 made a port call in Copenhagen, Denmark, where the crews will prepare for the upcoming multinational exercise Northern Coasts 2016.

SNMG1 is composed of F-100-class frigate ESPS Mendez Nunez – the group flagship, Portuguese Vasco da Gama-class frigate NRP Alvares Cabral, German Navy corvette Ludwigshafen am Rhein and Belgian frigate BNS Leopold I.

Northern Coasts is a recurring exercise which has been taking place in the Baltic Sea since 2007. European Navy ships will be operating in multiple task groups composed of up to seven ships from different nations.

In a scenario that will span several days, ships will keep track of an enemy, consolidate communication processes and react to emerging threats, while being under a constant threat of running into mine fields.

Apart from ships assigned to NATO, additional five ships and four aircraft from Germany will take part in the exercise. Latvia and Norway will contribute two ships, Denmark and Sweden three, Poland five and Lithuania one ship.

The U.S. Navy will be represented by a P-8A maritime reconnaissance airplane.