Canadian ships join major Baltic exercise with SNMCMG1 

Canadian ships join major Baltic exercise with SNMCMG1 

By NATO Maritime Command 

Exercise Northern Coasts 2025 (NOCO 25) concluded in Copenhagen, Denmark on September 14, 2025, after two weeks sharpening interoperability between Allies and maintaining security and stability in the Baltic Sea region. 

NOCO 25 consisted of forces from Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, United Kingdom, and United States. All nations operated in support of this German-led exercise in the Baltic Sea to further develop the capabilities for national and Alliance defence and to demonstrate Allied presence. 

Since the exercise’s inception in 2007, NOCO has been one of the largest multinational invitation exercises in the Baltic and provides participants with realistic training in a manufactured scenario. “We are pursuing the goal of strengthening the cooperation and military capabilities of the navies in the Baltic Sea. In doing so, we consistently rely on realistic threat scenarios from all dimensions: Air, land, water and cyber,” emphasizes German Rear Admiral Stephan Haisch, Commander Task Force Baltic. 

“This practical training is intended to increase our response and operational capability in the event of a crisis or conflict and also to further develop the leadership capability and cooperation between my staff and the partner navies.” 

Surface and underwater units as well as naval aviation and naval security forces participated in NOCO 25 on behalf of the German Navy. The naval organization consisted of a total of approximately 8,400 military personnel and around 40 units from 14 nations who took part in the exercise which focused on underwater and above water warfare. 

Standing NATO Mine Countermeasure Group 1 (SNMCMG1) Commander Jānis Auce and his flagship LVNS Virsaitis (A53) supported the exercise with other naval units from the group, including Canadian representation from His Majesty’s Canadian Ships Edmonton and Yellowknife. 

“I am convinced that during these two weeks, the task group has successfully completed an intensive and experience-filled training program. The training covered all important aspects of warfare. The exercise was designed so that every participating unit was able to acquire the precise skills and knowledge required to sustain and improve operational readiness. I am confident that after these hard two weeks, we are better and more confident than we were before.” 

SNMCMG1 is one of NATO’s four standing maritime task groups under the operational control of Allied Maritime Command (MARCOM). These task groups form the core maritime capability of NATO’s Allied Reaction Force (ARF) and provide a continuous maritime capability to execute NATO missions across the spectrum of operations, demonstrating solidarity and strengthening the bond and interoperability between Allied naval forces.