East Coast-based U.S. Navy SEALs conduct maritime training with Lithuanian and German special operations forces near Klaipeda, Lithuania, Jan. 22, 2025. The Navy released details on the training this week. (William Carlisle/U.S. Navy)
Navy SEALs and combat crewmen launched small raiding crafts from a high-speed patrol boat off the Lithuanian coastline in a show of force aimed at “reestablishing deterrence” in the Baltic region, the Navy said this week.
The SEALs, along with German and Lithuanian special operators, carried out a range of maritime maneuvers and combat tactics at sea over a two-week span.
“Exercises like this are crucial to ensuring we can operate seamlessly together to fight and win wars,” Capt. V. Scott King, commander of Naval Special Warfare Group 2, said in a statement Thursday.
U.S. Naval Special Warfare combat crewmen conduct maritime training with Lithuanian and German special operations forces near Klaipeda, Lithuania, Jan. 28, 2025. The Navy released details on the training this week. (William Carlisle/U.S. Navy)
The exercises were conducted around Klaipeda, a seaside Lithuanian city about 50 miles from the Russian military exclave of Kaliningrad.
The Baltic Sea region has emerged as a potential flashpoint with Russia. In recent months, a series of suspected sabotage incidents targeted critical undersea infrastructure, including communications cables.
In January, NATO responded with a new surveillance mission in the region focused on tracking down potential saboteurs. Some 40 U.S. Marines have deployed to Finland to assist in that campaign.
Meanwhile, U.S. special operators have forged closer partnerships with their counterparts in the Baltics.
Advanced marksmanship and close-quarters combat techniques were among the tactics rehearsed. The special operators also fine-tuned their ability to launch small raiding craft from the well decks of the Combatant Craft Medium, a versatile patrol vessel that plays a key role in SEAL missions.
The event culminated with a scenario that showcased the troops’ preparedness to carry out combat operations in the maritime realm, the SEALs said. The Navy did not elaborate on the details of the scenario.
“This training showcases U.S. forces’ lethality as well as re-establishes the U.S. military as a formidable deterrent to those who may try to test America’s military capabilities,” the statement said.
