NATO starts Baltic submarine-hunting drills

NATO countries have started five days of anti-submarine exercises in the Baltic Sea, with drills based in Sweden from Monday to Friday.

The exercises involve Sweden, Britain, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany and the Netherlands. NATO said several thousand naval forces, submarines from Germany and Sweden, surface vessels from several countries and air patrols will take part in staged hunts for submarines.

The Baltic has become a key area for what Western nations describe as hybrid tactics blamed on Russia. NATO has increased its naval presence in the sea, where military experts say submarine signals can be harder to track in shallow waters with heavy shipping traffic.

Rear Admiral John Craddock, NATO's commander for submarines, said submarines remained a threat because they could still dominate under the sea. He said detecting submarines was “a perishable skill” that needed regular practice.

Rear Admiral Nicolas Molitor of the French navy said the Baltic also faced threats from underwater vehicles or robots. He said surface vessels dragging anchors on the seabed could damage essential infrastructure, including undersea cables and pipelines.