This year's Baltops exercise gathered the largest amphibious assault and mine countermeasures forces ever. The French helicopter carrier Mistral, based in Toulon, is the second ship to join Baltops from distant waters for the first time, following a Spanish landing ship.

On Wednesday, the French loaded two brand-new Jaguar wheeled combat vehicles, which participated in the Spring Storm exercise in Estonia, onto their ship from Tallinn's cruise quay. These combat vehicles are just beginning their service in the French army.

"We are practicing cooperation with Mistral. Since it is an amphibious capability machine, its design allows it to drive onto and off such a landing ship during operations. So, this is another opportunity for practice," said Lt. Col. Pauchet, the commander of the French contingent.

During Baltops, Mistral collaborated with the Swedish navy mainly as a command ship but also practiced amphibious operations.

"Our task was to cooperate with Sweden on amphibious operations. It was a great success. We operated in the Swedish archipelago south of Stockholm," said Mistral's commander, Cpt. Olivier Roussille.

The Nordic countries do not have large landing ships – their doctrine has focused on defense rather than deploying troops. It seems that the latest Baltops emphasized the latter – why else would large landing ships, usually seen in the Atlantic or the Mediterranean, be present in the Baltic Sea.

--

Follow ERR News on Facebook and Twitter and never miss an update!