Plymouth-based Royal Marines launched covert boarding missions in the eastern Baltic Sea as they sharpened specialist skills ahead of operating with NATO in an entirely new way.
The Commandos are working towards fielding the UK Special Operations Maritime Task Group (SOMTG), which, from next year, will provide the alliance with elite troops able to deploy at extremely short notice to carry out missions such as recapturing vessels and oil rigs, as well as covert coastal raids to pave the way for allied amphibious landings.
Within the task group are a range of specialist teams drawn from across the Royal Navy and UK Commando Force who each bring unique skills to the equation – pilots, boarding teams, engineers and boat operators to name but a few.
To be able to validate that the SOMTG is ready for front-line duties with NATO’s Allied Reaction Force, Bickleigh-based 42 Commando and Devonport-based 47 Commando carried out boarding drills, launching small boats from support ship RFA Lyme Bay, before a joint raiding operation with the British Army’s 3 Ranger on Saaremaa, an island on Estonia’s west coast.
“Exercise Baltic Dawn reaffirmed what Commando Forces have always stood for – the ability to strike unpredictably from the sea, anywhere, at any time,” said Major Adam Kidson, Officer Commanding SOMTG.
“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.
“With the support of our maritime planners, we’ve shown that we can adapt to any platform and any mission – a hallmark of the Commando mindset.
“That spirit of adaptability and relentless pursuit of excellence is what has ensured we’re ready for NATO’s evaluation in January 2026 – and ready for the challenges that lie ahead.”
The deployment – named Exercise Baltic Dawn – was the culmination of months of hard work to prepare the 150-strong SOMTG for the front line, the first time the Royal Marines have created a task group such as this.
The Royal Marines Special Operations Maritime Task Group [SOMTG] primarily composed of Royal Marines from J Company, 42 Commando RM are heading to take part in Exercise BALTIC DAWN [which forms part of the wider TARASSIS activities], onboard RFA Lyme Bay on which the Plymouth based Commandos will practise and develop their Maritime Interdiction skills alongside members of 47 Commando RM who are an integral part of the SOMTG and the UKs elite amphibious boat operators.
The force has taken on a number of tests on their journey to be validated to deploy with the Allied Reaction Force from June, including cold weather training in Norway, intensive staff planning training, and workouts across the UK at Scraesdon Fort and Goonhilly Earth station in Cornwall and Spadeadam in Cumbria before heading to the Baltic to hone their Maritime Interdiction (military parlance for boarding operations) skills.
The training off Estonia’s coast is the latest in a series of smaller exercises under the banner of the much larger Tarassis.
Spread across a vast area (Norway, Latvia, Finland and the eastern Baltic) and embracing operations by land, sea and air, Exercise Tarassis was the most ambitious live activity by the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) since it was established over a decade ago.
It is not confined to the Baltic – or even just the coastlines. Thousands of troops, marines, sailors and aircrew, and dozens of ships and aircraft are committed across the Arctic, North Atlantic, Scandinavia and the eastern Baltic.
JEF is formed by a coalition of ten nations committed to the safety, security and prosperity of northern European waters, in particular the Scandinavian-Baltic region.
Royal Marines recently completed another Tarassis exercise in the Arctic – testing their ability to carry out amphibious operations anywhere in northern Europe as part of notable allied military drills.
A ten-day workout in the Arctic fjords around Troms County in Northern Norway looked at how the UK’s commandos – and Norwegian allies – can, in event of an attack or invasion, bring their leading troops to bear, protect them once they’ve landed ashore and, critically, keep them supplied for combat using traditional logistics and uncrewed technology.
