The nations of Europe seem to be bulking up their navies, and Germany is taking the lead among them, as they prepare to counter a presumed threat from the East — Russia.
On Sunday, Reuters reported that on Monday, Germany is set to commence major naval exercises off the Finnish coast, which ill include 3,600 sailors and troops, 40 ships and 30 aircraft from more than a dozen European countries. The focus of the drills is keeping the Baltic Sea safe for trade transports.
"The Baltic Sea is our front yard, so we and our neighbors obviously want to be able to move freely on the sea lines," Captain Sven Beck told reporters aboard the German frigate Hamburg.
Russia has repeatedly stated it has no intention to threaten anyone in Europe with a military offensive. However, responding to the deployment of a US missile defense system, which, according to military experts, can be re-purposed for launching offensive missiles itself, Russia deployed its Iskander-M missile launchers in Kaliningrad Region back in 2013. In February 2018, the head of the State Duma Defense Committee Vladimir Shamanov acknowledged that these weapons are stationed there permanently.