{"id":15024,"date":"2015-04-12T18:52:49","date_gmt":"2015-04-12T18:52:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2015\/04\/12\/nations-respond-to-russian-buildup-in-baltics\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T21:27:36","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T21:27:36","slug":"nations-respond-to-russian-buildup-in-baltics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/digital-show-dailies\/sea-air-space\/2015\/04\/12\/nations-respond-to-russian-buildup-in-baltics\/","title":{"rendered":"Nations Respond to Russian Buildup in Baltics"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">HELSINKI \u2014 Poland and Sweden are reinforcing their strike power and reach in the Baltic Sea area, a direct response to the Kremlin&#8217;s continued strengthening of naval and air assets in the Baltic and High North regions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sweden has embarked on a US $2 billion capital investment program to acquire a new submarine class, convert existing corvettes into frigates and re-establish a strong military presence on its forward Baltic island, Gotland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For its part, Poland is expanding its strike capability in the Baltic Sea with plans to procure cruise missiles for three submarines earmarked for purchase by 2023, and <span class=\"rte rte-comment\">. The Polish Ministry of Defense <span class=\"rte rte-comment\">(<\/span><\/span><span class=\"rte rte-comment\">MoD) <\/span>also plans to acquire Norwegian-built naval strike missiles. <span class=\"rte rte-comment\">as part of its capacity enhancement program.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The primary motivation driving Moscow&#8217;s military buildup <span class=\"rte rte-comment\">strengthening <\/span>around the Baltic Sea and the High North is its unshakeable perception that it is surrounded by a hostile military alliance \u2014 the 28-member NATO. <span class=\"rte rte-comment\">North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b><span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/sea-air-space\" title=\"http:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/sea-air-space\">Digital Show Daily: Complete coverage from the Navy League Sea-Air-Space Exposition<\/a><\/span><\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This perception dates to the dissolution <span class=\"rte rte-comment\">collapse <\/span>of the Soviet Union and decimation of its naval forces in the early 1990s. Amid the pursuant economic collapse, funding for Russia&#8217;s Navy dried up, forcing ships to sit in port and rust for years. Moreover, important infrastructure on shore along the Baltic coast and the Crimean <span class=\"rte rte-comment\">p<\/span>Peninsula were lost to newly independent states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Moscow&#8217;s muscle-flexing <span class=\"rte rte-comment\">of its military muscle <\/span>in the Baltic <span class=\"rte rte-comment\">Sea<\/span> and High North forms part of massive military programs aimed at reversing that decline. <span class=\"rte rte-comment\">As part of <\/span>The Russian government&#8217;s <span class=\"rte rte-comment\">massive <\/span>20 trillion ruble (US $640 billion) rearmament program includes <span class=\"rte rte-comment\">, the Navy is <\/span>building new frigates and corvettes as well as new nuclear- and diesel-powered submarines. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>Fleet Emerges From Lean Years<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Russia&#8217;s Baltic Fleet was particularly hard hit by the Soviet collapse. The Navy&#8217;s infrastructure was spread along the Baltic coast from Kaliningrad to St. Petersburg. Though it held onto the port city of Kaliningrad, its isolation from Russia makes it difficult for Russia to support a large fleet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to publicly available data, Russia&#8217;s Baltic Fleet consists of some 50 different vessels, comprising diesel-powered submarines, one Sovremenny<span class=\"rte rte-comment\">y<\/span>-class destroyer, about eight<span class=\"rte rte-comment\">8<\/span> Steregushchy- and Nanuchka-class missile corvettes, two Neustrashimy<span class=\"rte rte-comment\">y<\/span>-class guided missile frigates, six Paschim-class anti-submarine warfare vessels, and a few dozen smaller vessels and landing ships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, the fleet doesn&#8217;t see much action in the Baltic, according to Mikhail Barabanov, a naval expert at the Moscow-based Center for the Analysis of Strategies and Technologies. <span class=\"rte rte-comment\">(CAST).<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;There is no special naval buildup being performed in the Baltic, with the exception of the commissioning of several Project 20380 [Steregushchy-class] corvettes, &#8221; Barabanov said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;Moreover, the main large warships of the Baltic Fleet, the Project 11540 [Neustrahimy-class] frigates and the large tank landing ships, serve almost constantly outside of the Baltic Sea, especially in the Mediterranean,&#8221; Barabanov said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the face of the Ukraine crisis and Russia&#8217;s antagonistic relationship with NATO, the Baltic has taken on a greater military significance, according to <span class=\"rte rte-comment\">Dr. <\/span>Dmitry Gorenburg, a Russian Navy expert at CNA Corp.<span class=\"rte rte-comment\">oration<\/span> in Virginia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In this climate of heightened tensions, Gorenburg said the Baltic Fleet is again taking on a counter-NATO component<span class=\"rte rte-comment\"> in the Baltic<\/span>. &#8220;There&#8217;s also an espionage component, with small subs used to probe NATO and Swedish and Finnish maritime defenses,&#8221; he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This rising <span class=\"rte rte-comment\">climate of greater security <\/span>instability <span class=\"rte rte-comment\">and tension <\/span>is reflected in increased Russian <span class=\"rte rte-comment\">also seeing a scale-up of <\/span>multi-branch naval exercises. <span class=\"rte rte-comment\">by Russia in the Baltic Sea. <\/span>Warships from Russia&#8217;s Baltic Fleet are preparing to enter the open seas for rocket, artillery and torpedo exercises under approval from the Western Military District, which is <span class=\"rte rte-comment\">. <span class=\"rte rte-comment\">(WMD).<\/span> The district <span class=\"rte rte-comment\">WMD <\/span>is<\/span> expected to sanction and conduct about 4,000 military drills in 2015.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>Sweden To Re-establish Gotland<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sweden&#8217;s response to Russia&#8217;s near-neighborhood capacity-building has been to launch major naval upgrades, including <span class=\"rte rte-comment\">capacity building program that will include <\/span>the modernization of part of its submarine fleet and the acquisition of two A26-class stealthy subs from 2016-2024. About $1 billion is being spent on the purchase of the two A26 subs alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The capital investment will refocus <span class=\"rte rte-comment\">lead to a serious re-focusing of <\/span>the Navy&#8217;s submarine and surface fleet on operations in the Baltic. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;The A26 submarine will represent the very best in stealth and advanced technologies. It will be pivotal to our ambition to expand the reach of our present operations in the Baltic Sea,&#8221; Swedish Defense Minister Peter Hultqvist said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The <span class=\"rte rte-comment\">naval strengthening <\/span>program will include a $700 million project to upgrade submarine-hunter warships, with major refits and technology improvements scheduled for the G\u00e4vle- and Sundsvall G\u00f6teborg-class corvettes, which will be effectively converted to frigates. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>More important, Sweden is re-establishing <span class=\"rte rte-comment\">significantly, <\/span><span class=\"rte rte-comment\">the re-establishment of <\/span><span class=\"rte rte-comment\">a <\/span>permanent air, naval and fast reaction forces<span class=\"rte rte-comment\">&#8216; units<\/span> on Gotland Island, its southern-most military outpost in the Baltic. It will station <span class=\"rte rte-comment\">This will result in the stationing of<\/span> Gripen jets, a support helicopter unit, submarine-hunter ships and a <span class=\"rte rte-comment\">modular-structured<\/span> rapid response Army battalion on the island. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;We are responding to needs,&#8221; Hultqvist said. &#8220;There is increased activity by Russia in the Baltic Sea region and this is generating tensions. Gotland will have a strategic importance in our Baltic Sea defenses.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>Polish Missile Plans <\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Poland is in talks with Washington and Paris to buy cruise missiles for new submarines to boost its <span class=\"rte rte-comment\">As part of its naval strengthening in the <\/span>Baltic Sea presence, said Tomasz Siemoniak, Poland&#8217;s deputy prime minister and defense minister. <span class=\"rte rte-comment\">, said the country is in talks with Washington and Paris to buy cruise missiles for new submarines.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sources close to the potential deal <span class=\"rte rte-comment\">(Polish news agency PAP reports) <\/span>suggest Warsaw aims to buy 24 Tomahawk missiles from Raytheon, Polish news agency PAP reports. Should the deal be approved by the US Congress, the first eight missiles could be delivered to the Polish Navy in 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The acquisition, <span class=\"rte rte-comment\">which is<\/span> to be carried out as part of the Polish Claws program, could significantly improve the Navy&#8217;s strike capability. <span class=\"rte rte-comment\">of the country&#8217;s Navy.<\/span>Should Poland acquire the Tomahawks, it would become the third country to operate these long-range missiles, alongside the US and UK. Poland&#8217;s actions are connected to increased Russian military presence in Eastern Europe and the annexation <span class=\"rte rte-comment\">Moscow&#8217;s annexing <\/span>of Ukraine&#8217;s Crimean peninsula in 2014.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Under the Polish Defense Ministry&#8217;s Military Modernization Plan for <span class=\"rte rte-comment\">the years <\/span>2013-2022, two new submarines are to be delivered <span class=\"rte rte-comment\">to the Polish Navy <\/span>by 2022, and a third by 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In late 2014, Poland ordered <span class=\"rte rte-comment\">moved to boost its naval strike capability by ordering<\/span> additional naval strike missiles <span class=\"rte rte-comment\">NSMs <\/span>from Norwegian company Kongsberg <span class=\"rte rte-comment\">. The plan is intended <\/span>to establish a second coastal missile defense squadron on the Polish Baltic shore. The first squadron was deployed in 2013 and new missiles are to be delivered to Poland by May 2018. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At the signing ceremony in December, Siemoniak said the <span class=\"rte rte-comment\">country&#8217;s <\/span>military &#8220;wants the strike range of the [coastal defense missile squadron] to cover the entire Polish coast.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;Poland must be secure on its Baltic Sea shore, which is the reason behind the decision to set up a naval missile unit and expand its range of operations,&#8221; Siemoniak said.<span class=\"rte rte-comment\">, who added that<\/span> Poland&#8217;s military &#8220;wants the strike range of the [coastal defense missile squadron] to cover the entire Polish coast.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The two acquisition programs form part of the MoD&#8217;s Navy modernization strategy. <span class=\"rte rte-comment\">, which aims to upgrade the fleet and expand its capabilities. <\/span>By 2030, Poland plans to spend some 900 million zloty (US $240 million) per year on new<span class=\"rte rte-comment\"> naval<\/span> vessels and armament, <span class=\"rte rte-comment\">for its naval forces, <\/span>according to MoD figures. Poland&#8217;s coastline runs to 440 kilometers. <span class=\"rte rte-comment\">(275 miles).<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>Britain Chasing &#8216;Ghost&#8217; Russian Subs<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It&#8217;s not just on the front line with Russia where Moscow&#8217;s more aggressive military policy is getting noticed. Like Sweden, <span class=\"rte rte-comment\">the <\/span>Britain has been chasing possible Russian submarines around its territorial waters in the west of Scotland close to the Royal Navy&#8217;s Faslane nuclear submarine base <span class=\"rte rte-comment\">i<\/span>on the Clyde.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">NATO maritime patrol aircraft from four nations were scrambled in late 2014 after fishermen spotted what could have been the periscope of a Russian nuclear submarine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Virtually all of the attention in Britain, though, centered on the fact that the government had to call up its allies to provide maritime patrol aircraft to help conduct the search from the air as it had scrapped all of its own capabilities in 2010 <span class=\"rte rte-comment\">in order<\/span> to help balance the books at the Ministry of Defense. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><i><b style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Jaroslaw Adamowski <\/b>in Warsaw, <b>Matthew Bodner <\/b>in Moscow and <b>Andrew Chuter <\/b>in London contributed to this report.<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Email: <a href=\"mailto:godwyer@defensenews.com\">godwyer@defensenews.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Poland and Sweden are reinforcing their strike power and reach in the Baltic Sea area, a direct response to the Kremlin&#8217;s continued strengthening of naval and air assets in the Baltic and the High North regions<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":28870,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":97,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[29,97,33],"tags":[],"coauthors":[1929],"class_list":["post-15024","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-digital-show-dailies","category-sea-air-space","category-home"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"5NC3EEUZQZEM3BC7QIIXVYF4JU","arc_canonical_url":"\/digital-show-dailies\/sea-air-space\/2015\/04\/12\/nations-respond-to-russian-buildup-in-baltics\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Nations Respond to Russian Buildup in Baltics - Defense News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Poland and Sweden are reinforcing their strike power and reach in the Baltic Sea area, a direct response to the Kremlin&#039;s continued strengthening of naval and air assets in the Baltic and the High North regions\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Nations Respond to Russian Buildup in Baltics\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Poland and Sweden are reinforcing their strike power and reach in the Baltic Sea area, a direct response to the Kremlin&#039;s continued strengthening of naval and air assets in the Baltic and the High North regions\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/digital-show-dailies\/sea-air-space\/2015\/04\/12\/nations-respond-to-russian-buildup-in-baltics\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Defense News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-04-12T18:52:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-07T21:27:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Staff\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Staff\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t    \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t    \"@graph\": [\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Article\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/digital-show-dailies\\\/sea-air-space\\\/2015\\\/04\\\/12\\\/nations-respond-to-russian-buildup-in-baltics\\\/#article\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/digital-show-dailies\\\/sea-air-space\\\/2015\\\/04\\\/12\\\/nations-respond-to-russian-buildup-in-baltics\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"author\": {\n\t                \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"headline\": \"Nations Respond to Russian Buildup in Baltics\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2015-04-12T18:52:49+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-07T21:27:36+00:00\",\n\t            \"mainEntityOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/digital-show-dailies\\\/sea-air-space\\\/2015\\\/04\\\/12\\\/nations-respond-to-russian-buildup-in-baltics\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"wordCount\": 1437,\n\t            \"commentCount\": 0,\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/digital-show-dailies\\\/sea-air-space\\\/2015\\\/04\\\/12\\\/nations-respond-to-russian-buildup-in-baltics\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/635641793448957724-sweden-visby-subhunt2-gettyjpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"articleSection\": [\n\t                \"Digital Show Dailies\",\n\t                \"Don't use -- Sea Air Space\",\n\t                \"Home\"\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"CommentAction\",\n\t                    \"name\": \"Comment\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/digital-show-dailies\\\/sea-air-space\\\/2015\\\/04\\\/12\\\/nations-respond-to-russian-buildup-in-baltics\\\/#respond\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/digital-show-dailies\\\/sea-air-space\\\/2015\\\/04\\\/12\\\/nations-respond-to-russian-buildup-in-baltics\\\/\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/digital-show-dailies\\\/sea-air-space\\\/2015\\\/04\\\/12\\\/nations-respond-to-russian-buildup-in-baltics\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Nations Respond to Russian Buildup in Baltics - Defense News\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#website\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"primaryImageOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/digital-show-dailies\\\/sea-air-space\\\/2015\\\/04\\\/12\\\/nations-respond-to-russian-buildup-in-baltics\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/digital-show-dailies\\\/sea-air-space\\\/2015\\\/04\\\/12\\\/nations-respond-to-russian-buildup-in-baltics\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/635641793448957724-sweden-visby-subhunt2-gettyjpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2015-04-12T18:52:49+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-07T21:27:36+00:00\",\n\t            \"description\": \"Poland and Sweden are reinforcing their strike power and reach in the Baltic Sea area, a direct response to the Kremlin's continued strengthening of naval and air assets in the Baltic and the High North regions\",\n\t            \"breadcrumb\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/digital-show-dailies\\\/sea-air-space\\\/2015\\\/04\\\/12\\\/nations-respond-to-russian-buildup-in-baltics\\\/#breadcrumb\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ReadAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/digital-show-dailies\\\/sea-air-space\\\/2015\\\/04\\\/12\\\/nations-respond-to-russian-buildup-in-baltics\\\/\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/digital-show-dailies\\\/sea-air-space\\\/2015\\\/04\\\/12\\\/nations-respond-to-russian-buildup-in-baltics\\\/#primaryimage\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/635641793448957724-sweden-visby-subhunt2-gettyjpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/635641793448957724-sweden-visby-subhunt2-gettyjpg.jpg\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"BreadcrumbList\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/digital-show-dailies\\\/sea-air-space\\\/2015\\\/04\\\/12\\\/nations-respond-to-russian-buildup-in-baltics\\\/#breadcrumb\",\n\t            \"itemListElement\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 1,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Home\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"home\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 2,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Digital Show Dailies\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/digital-show-dailies\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"digital-show-dailies\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 3,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Don't use -- Sea Air Space\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/digital-show-dailies\\\/sea-air-space\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"sea-air-space\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 4,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Nations Respond to Russian Buildup in Baltics\"\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebSite\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#website\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Defense News\",\n\t            \"description\": \"Covering the politics, business and technology of defense | Defense News\",\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"SearchAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"EntryPoint\",\n\t                        \"urlTemplate\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"\n\t                    },\n\t                    \"query-input\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"PropertyValueSpecification\",\n\t                        \"valueRequired\": true,\n\t                        \"valueName\": \"search_term_string\"\n\t                    }\n\t                }\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Organization\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#organization\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Defense News\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/\",\n\t            \"logo\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/defensenews-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/defensenews-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"Defense News\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"\n\t            }\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\",\n\t            \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"migration\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/author\\\/migration\\\/\"\n\t        }\n\t    ]\n\t}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Nations Respond to Russian Buildup in Baltics - Defense News","description":"Poland and Sweden are reinforcing their strike power and reach in the Baltic Sea area, a direct response to the Kremlin's continued strengthening of naval and air assets in the Baltic and the High North regions","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Nations Respond to Russian Buildup in Baltics","og_description":"Poland and Sweden are reinforcing their strike power and reach in the Baltic Sea area, a direct response to the Kremlin's continued strengthening of naval and air assets in the Baltic and the High North regions","og_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/digital-show-dailies\/sea-air-space\/2015\/04\/12\/nations-respond-to-russian-buildup-in-baltics\/","og_site_name":"Defense News","article_published_time":"2015-04-12T18:52:49+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-08-07T21:27:36+00:00","author":"Staff","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Staff","Est. reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/digital-show-dailies\/sea-air-space\/2015\/04\/12\/nations-respond-to-russian-buildup-in-baltics\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/digital-show-dailies\/sea-air-space\/2015\/04\/12\/nations-respond-to-russian-buildup-in-baltics\/"},"author":{"name":"migration","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1"},"headline":"Nations Respond to Russian Buildup in Baltics","datePublished":"2015-04-12T18:52:49+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-07T21:27:36+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/digital-show-dailies\/sea-air-space\/2015\/04\/12\/nations-respond-to-russian-buildup-in-baltics\/"},"wordCount":1437,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/digital-show-dailies\/sea-air-space\/2015\/04\/12\/nations-respond-to-russian-buildup-in-baltics\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/635641793448957724-sweden-visby-subhunt2-gettyjpg.jpg","articleSection":["Digital Show Dailies","Don't use -- Sea Air Space","Home"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/digital-show-dailies\/sea-air-space\/2015\/04\/12\/nations-respond-to-russian-buildup-in-baltics\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/digital-show-dailies\/sea-air-space\/2015\/04\/12\/nations-respond-to-russian-buildup-in-baltics\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/digital-show-dailies\/sea-air-space\/2015\/04\/12\/nations-respond-to-russian-buildup-in-baltics\/","name":"Nations Respond to Russian Buildup in Baltics - Defense News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/digital-show-dailies\/sea-air-space\/2015\/04\/12\/nations-respond-to-russian-buildup-in-baltics\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/digital-show-dailies\/sea-air-space\/2015\/04\/12\/nations-respond-to-russian-buildup-in-baltics\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/635641793448957724-sweden-visby-subhunt2-gettyjpg.jpg","datePublished":"2015-04-12T18:52:49+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-07T21:27:36+00:00","description":"Poland and Sweden are reinforcing their strike power and reach in the Baltic Sea area, a direct response to the Kremlin's continued strengthening of naval and air assets in the Baltic and the High North regions","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/digital-show-dailies\/sea-air-space\/2015\/04\/12\/nations-respond-to-russian-buildup-in-baltics\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/digital-show-dailies\/sea-air-space\/2015\/04\/12\/nations-respond-to-russian-buildup-in-baltics\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/digital-show-dailies\/sea-air-space\/2015\/04\/12\/nations-respond-to-russian-buildup-in-baltics\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/635641793448957724-sweden-visby-subhunt2-gettyjpg.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/635641793448957724-sweden-visby-subhunt2-gettyjpg.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/digital-show-dailies\/sea-air-space\/2015\/04\/12\/nations-respond-to-russian-buildup-in-baltics\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/","ad_zone":"home"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Digital Show Dailies","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/digital-show-dailies\/","ad_zone":"digital-show-dailies"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Don't use -- Sea Air Space","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/digital-show-dailies\/sea-air-space\/","ad_zone":"sea-air-space"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Nations Respond to Russian Buildup in Baltics"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#website","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/","name":"Defense News","description":"Covering the politics, business and technology of defense | Defense News","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#organization","name":"Defense News","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/defensenews-logo-white.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/defensenews-logo-white.png","caption":"Defense News"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1","name":"migration","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"migration"},"url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/author\/migration\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Defense News","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews","push-errors":false,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/635641793448957724-sweden-visby-subhunt2-gettyjpg.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15024","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15024"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15024\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15033,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15024\/revisions\/15033"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28870"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15024"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15024"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15024"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=15024"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}