CTF Baltic Gets Underway, Highlighting Growing Importance of Baltic Sea Region
The opening of Commander Task Force Baltic in Rostock, Germany is just one instance of the Baltic Sea region’s growing importance (Flickr)
Following visits to Berlin by both U.S. President Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Germany opened a new naval facility on the Baltic Coast in Rostock, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Designated Commander Task Force Baltic (CTF Baltic) was officially inaugurated on October 21 and will “…coordinat[e] naval activities in the Baltic Sea region with Allies and provid[e] them with a current joint maritime situational picture around the clock,” according to a NATO press release.
While the German Navy will comprise a large portion of CTF Baltic’s staff, around one third of personnel will come from 12 additional NATO members who are participating in the initiative. These countries—Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden, and the United Kingdom—will also provide officers for a rotating leadership corp.
There are already indications that the base will expand in coming years. The Swedish Armed Forces have said that their “…contribution is expected to grow to about twenty people” from its current size of twelve. At CTF Baltic’s official inauguration, German Chief of Navy VADM Jan Christian Kaack specifically thanked “…nations who did express an interest in joining but have yet to decide on their commitment.” He added that the facility is, “eagerly anticipating any contribution [they] would like to make.”
The facility’s opening is only one part of a broader military buildup by both NATO and the Kremlin in the region. Approximately 550 kilometers east of CTF Baltic lies the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, which has long been of strategic importance to the country. Sometimes referred to as Russia’s “unsinkable aircraft carrier,” it houses the Russian Baltic Fleet (composed of 52 surface ships), approximately 12-20,000 troops (numbers vary), and a host of aircraft, tanks, and other equipment.
Moscow has stepped up its militarization of Kaliningrad over the past few years. The Kremlin permanently stationed nuclear-capable Iskander missiles there in 2018 and deployed three MiG fighter jets equipped with hypersonic missiles to the region in 2022. It has also recently committed to building new submarines specifically for the Baltic Fleet.
In addition to the war in Ukraine, another motive driving militarization has been Finland and Sweden’s accession to NATO in 2023 and 2024 respectively, which solidified the near-complete encirclement of the Baltic Sea by NATO members. Both Finland and Sweden had long ago joined military exercises in the area and adopted NATO interoperability standards; however, the formalization of mutual defense agreements by the region’s third and fourth largest navies (Russia and Germany take the top spots) has clearly frustrated Moscow.
Such anger was also evidenced by the Kremlin’s response to the opening of CTF Baltic, which included summoning German Ambassador Alexander Graf Lambsdorff to the Foreign Ministry to express Russia’s disapproval. The Kremlin also issued a statement that decried the base as a “blatant breach” of past treaties and promised a “corresponding response.” Germany has vehemently denied any violation of international law and also pointed out that the treaty Russia referred to expressly allows facilities such as CTF Baltic.
Russia’s criticism of the facility has certainly not stopped it from pressing ahead with its intended mission. CTF Baltic assumed tactical command for its very first exercise with an anti-submarine warfare training between November 11 and 14. It is also slated to take a leading role in the upcoming BALTOPS and Northern Coasts naval exercises, which will occur in 2025.