Northern Coasts 2016 concludes

NATO and ally nation ships have concluded this year’s edition of the German-sponsored large-scale exercise Northern Coasts.

The two-week exercise started on September 5 in Copenhagen, Denmark, and was attended by ships and aircraft from 14 countries including Denmark, Germany, Sweden, Norway, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belgium, Netherlands, Poland, France, Canada, Finland and the United States.

Ships from two NATO standing maritime groups (SNMG1 and SNMCMG1) made a significant contribution to the exercise this year.

In a scenario that spanned several days, ships operated in multiple task groups composed of up to seven ships from different nations. They kept track of an enemy, consolidated communication processes and reacted to emerging threats, all while under a constant threat of running into mine fields.