Tag Archives: BALTOPS

Coming correct in the Baltic

Posted on by Leave a comment

Exercise Baltic Operations (BALTOPS) 2018 recently concluded and was pretty wide in scope, blending both NATO forces and non-aligned Baltic nations (i.e. Sweden and Finland) with 43 maritime units, more than 60 aircraft and a combined amphibious landing force (the latter of which included such nontypical units as the Sig 550-armed Romanian 307th Naval Infantry Regiment operating CRRC inflatables from a U.S. landing dock)

For instance:

180608-N-TJ319-0239 BALTIC SEA (June 8, 2018) Members of the Romanian 307th Naval Infantry Regiment depart the well deck of the Harpers Ferry-class dock landing ship USS Oak Hill (LSD 51) on a combat rubber raiding crafts during a joint personnel recovery exercise in support of exercise Baltic Operations (BALTOPS) 2018. BALTOPS is the premier annual maritime-focused exercise in the Baltic Region and one of the largest exercises in Northern Europe that is designed to enhance the flexibility and interoperability among allied and partner nations. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Jessica L. Dowell/Released)

They practiced some good, very relevant stuff to include mine/countermine ops, defense against fast attack craft, TRAP ops, and air defense exercise from shore-based low-flying fast jets (German Tornados).

One of the most eye-catching of the exercise footnotes was a photoex with 30 vessels to include the U.S. Navy’s Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Bainbridge (DDG 96), the Blue Ridge-class command and control ship USS Mount Whitney (LCC 20), and the Harpers Ferry-class dock landing ship USS Oak Hill (LSD 51). These were joined by the Finnish Hmeenmaa-class minelayer FNS Uusimaa (05), Denmark’s Iver Huitfeldt-class frigate HDMS Niels Juel (F363), the German Type 702 Berlin-class replenishment ship FGS Frankfurt A.M. (A1412), the RN’s Duke-class Type 23 frigate HMS Monmouth (F235) and a cornucopia of smaller patrol boats and mine countermeasure ships from such diverse players as Turkey and Lithuania.

BALTIC SEA (June 9, 2018) Thirty maritime unit ships from 12 nations maneuver in close formation for a photo exercise during Exercise Baltic Operations (BALTOPS) 2018 in the Baltic Sea. BALTOPS is the premier annual maritime-focused exercise in the Baltic Region and one of the largest exercises in Northern Europe that are designed to enhance the flexibility and interoperability among allied and partner nations. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Justin Stumberg/Released) 180609-N-XT273-2967

Remember that time B-1Bs simulated dropping Quickstrike mines in a Baltic op?

Posted on by One comment

The Russians are sure to be a fan of the ongoing BALTOPS excercise which has seen, among other things, the Truman Strike Group including Carrier Air Wing One (CVW) 1, embarked aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) and B-1B’s sent from CONUS.

Speaking of which, how about those mines:

“In flight footage featuring drop of Navy Quickstrike Mine as well as taxi take off and landing. Two B-1B Lancers assigned to Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, dropped 12 inert Mark 62 Quickstrike mines while participating in BALTOPS 2018 which is an annual, multinational exercise designed to enhance interoperability and demonstrate NATO and partner force resolve to defend the Baltic Region. The Lancers were assigned to the 345th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron and sortied from RAF Fairford, England, June 2, 2018. (Video by Senior Airman Shawn White, 7th Bomb Wing Public Affairs)”

Sailors from the Navy Munitions Command Atlantic Unit at Charleston Air Force Base, S.C., worked with members of the 7th Munitions Squadron to build the mines using Navy kits and Air Force practise bombs.

According to the Navy: The Quickstrike is a family of shallow water, aircraft laid mines used primarily against surface and subsurface craft. Quickstrike versions Mark 62 and Mark 63 are converted general purpose 500-pound and 1000-pound bombs, respectively. The Mark 65 is a 2,000-pound mine, which utilizes a thin-walled mine case, rather than a bomb body.

Mines can be used to deny an enemy access to specific areas or channelize the enemy into specific areas. Sea mines have been used by the U.S. Navy since the Revolutionary War. Mines have been used with significant effect in the Civil War and both World Wars. The most effective use of mines by the United States was against the Japanese Empire in World War II. U.S. aircraft laid over 12,000 mines in Japanese shipping routes and harbor approaches, sinking 650 Japanese ships and totally disrupting all of their maritime shipping.

Some stills:

A U.S. Air Force B-1B Lancer assigned to the 345th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron takes off in support of Exercise Baltic Operations at RAF Fairford, England, June 2, 2018 (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Emily Copeland)

U.S. Air Force Airmen assigned to the 345th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron align 12 inert Mark 62 Quickstrike mines on a munitions assembly conveyor during Exercise Baltic Operations at RAF Fairford, England, May 31, 2018. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Emily Copeland)

Warning tag is displayed on an inert Mark 62 Quickstrike mine firing mechanism for Exercise Baltic Operations at RAF Fairford, England, May 31, 2018. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Emily Copeland)