NATO SNMCMG-1 participates in Finnish Naval Drills

Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group One (SNMCMG1) is training with the Finnish Navy over two days between 27-28 April, 2020, NATO Maritime Command announced on official website.

The Finnish Navy’s Coastal Fleet is holding the International Mine Countermeasures Exercise in the Archipelago Sea, with participants from the Finnish Navy’s 4th Mine Countermeasures Squadron and SNMCMG1.

The exercise is organised at sea, and makes it possible to conduct the exercise without having close contact between the different crews. Due to the threat from COVID-19, no port visits are conducted in Finland.

This cooperation between SNMCMG1 and the Finnish Navy is based on the Finnish Katanpää-Class mine countermeasure vessels being part of NATO Response Force (NRF) pool for 2020.

From the Finnish side, the exercise involved the command echelon of the 4th Mine Countermeasures Squadron and Katanpää-Class mine countermeasure vessel Purunpää. From NATO side, SNMCMG1 brought the German flagship Donau, the Dutch minehunter Willemstad and the Norwegian minesweeper Otra.