Operational challenges for Russia and NATO Maritime Forces in the Baltic Sea

Introduction The Baltic Sea, although being the smallest of the seas that provide Russia access to the global commons, presents a complex, uncertain and heavily militarised operating environment. The purpose of this article is to explore the operational challenges that both Russian and NATO maritime forces may face in the event of a conflict, and to consider possible solutions that NATO forces could implement to overcome these challenges. To achieve this goal, this article first delimitates the ‘boundaries’ of the scenario in question, thus identifying the nations that would be involved and th…