The special operations drills are part of a wider NATO training operation in Scandinavia and the Baltics.
The UK military’s elite amphibious special operations unit is getting ready for a major NATO validation.
British Commandos in the Baltics
As part of the pre-validation drills, called Exercise Baltic Dawn, 42 and 47 Commando (a “commando” is a battalion-sized unit) conducted ship boarding drills in the Baltic Sea, as well as a joint raiding operation with the British Army’s 3 Ranger on an Estonian island.
The special operations drills are part of a wider NATO training operation, Exercise Tarassis, which is taking place across Scandinavia and the Baltic and involves land, sea, and air forces from more than 10 NATO members. The exercise comes at a point when tensions between NATO and Russia are sky high over Moscow’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine.
“Exercise Baltic Dawn provided an opportunity for a Special Operations Land Task Group to enable a Maritime Task Group infiltrating over the beach to successfully conduct a joint raid, with the Land Task Group collecting intelligence on the target prior to the link-up, securing the landing point, providing ground transportation to the target and then together conducting the assault,” the officer Commanding Special Operations Task Group B, whose name was kept confidential, said about the drills.
The main aim behind the drill is to get the UK Special Operations Maritime Task Group (SOMTG) ready for an important NATO evaluation in 2026.
NATO is set to evaluate the SOMTG in January 2026 to assess its capabilities and readiness. If NATO finds them to be up to par, the Royal Marines unit will be declared as having full operating capability and will be able to deploy in active operations.
Specifically, once declared ready, the SOMTG will provide the transatlantic alliance with special operations troops who are able to deploy at a moment’s notice. They will conduct a wide range of maritime and amphibious warfare conventional and counterterrorism mission sets, including visit, board, search, and seizure, recapturing oil rigs, and over-the-beach operations to pave the way for amphibious landings.
“Exercise Baltic Dawn reaffirmed what Commando Forces have always stood for – the ability to strike unpredictably from the sea, anywhere, at any time,” Major Adam Kidson, officer commanding SOMTG, said in a service press release.
The SOMTG is essentially a combined arms task force with units and assets from across the Royal Navy and UK Commando Force that can operate independently. It has its own organic helicopters, combat engineers, specialized boats, and, of course, Royal Marines.
“What’s different today is how we’re evolving that timeless capability. By operating from a Royal Fleet Auxiliary platform and conducting complex Maritime Interdiction Operations, we’ve expanded our reach and flexibility,” the Royal Marines officer added.
About the Royal Marines Commandos
The Royal Marines Commandos are the UK’s elite amphibious warfare unit. A light infantry special operations organization, the Royal Marines specialize in amphibious and arctic warfare. Although the organization is much smaller than the US Marine Corps (around 6,000 compared to roughly 172,000), it has played a leading role in British military operations since the end of World War II. The 3 Commando Brigade spearheaded the recapturing of the Falkland Islands from Argentina in 1982. Then, the Royal Marines deployed in Iraq (twice) and Afghanistan. Recently, the organization has been making major updates to meet the threats of today.
About the Author: Stavros Atlamazoglou
Stavros Atlamazoglou is a seasoned defense journalist specializing in special operations and a Hellenic Army veteran (national service with the 575th Marine Battalion and Army HQ). He holds a BA from the Johns Hopkins University and an MA from the Johns Hopkins’ School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). His work has been featured in Business Insider, Sandboxx, and SOFREP.
Image: DVIDS.
