About four dozen US Marines will be redirected from Europe to the Baltic Sea region to support Baltic Sentry, NATO’s enhanced vigilance activity, the US Marine Corps said on 1 October. The team comes from the 2nd Reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, and will work alongside Finland’s Coastal Brigade.
The Marines will provide expeditionary surveillance and tactical reconnaissance, using small unmanned aerial systems and littoral sensors. Their data will feed into the shared NATO common operational picture. The stated aim is to improve maritime domain awareness and protect critical undersea infrastructure in the region.
Baltic Sentry is led by European allies under Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum and Allied Maritime Command, with the US Marine Corps in a supporting role. Maj. Gen. Daniel Shipley, commander of US Marine Corps Forces, Europe and Africa, said the deployment shows European allies leading regional maritime security while the US contributes specialised capabilities.
Finnish Navy Capt. Johan Tillander, chief of operations at Finland Navy Command, said the Marines’ experience and systems suit the effort to supplement the situation picture and monitor the Baltic Sea. Baltic Sentry was set up to deter hybrid threats to subsea cables and pipelines, which carry power, data and gas across the region.
