A United States Marine Corps unit will help the Finnish Navy build maritime domain awareness in the Gulf of Finland. Finland’s Minister of Defence Antti Häkkänen made the decision, the Ministry of Defence announced on 19 October 2026.
The unit will take part in Baltic Sentry, NATO’s enhanced Vigilance Activity (eVA) in the Baltic Sea. NATO launched Baltic Sentry to strengthen its military presence in the region. Its aims are to prevent and counter threats to critical undersea infrastructure and to build an integrated regional picture.
Häkkänen said US Marines had already worked with Finland on the same task.
— A similar cooperation produced great results in spring 2025. The expertise and systems of the US Marine Corps are ideal for enhancing Finland’s maritime domain awareness and supporting our maritime surveillance, he said.
He called the deployment a continuation of Finland’s international exercises with its Allies.