As Trump negotiates with Putin, NATO fights Russian sabotage of undersea cables
Lt. Cmdr. Sjoerd Knoop, captain of the Luymes, said dragging an anchor along the seabed was an obvious sign of suspicion as the crew searched for saboteurs. 'It's not normal behavior,' he said. Other possible warning signs include sudden changes of speed by the ships in the area around the undersea cables.
Since the launch of Baltic Sentry in mid-January, there have been no clear examples of sabotage. But it's not clear what exactly the warships would do if they did come across an attack. NATO has no law enforcement powers and would likely have to rely on authorities in its member states to carry out arrests and prosecutions once the suspect ship passed through their territorial waters.
'NATO is here in the first place to deconflict and to deter, and we hope with our mere presence anybody who would think about inflicting damage to critical underwater infrastructure will think twice,' said Kockx.
The number of ships involved in Baltic Sentry fluctuates — there were seven vessels involved while NBC News was observing the mission — but all are European. U.S. involvement is limited to reconnaissance aircraft and a small force of Marines equipped with drones deployed to an island off the coast of Finland.
In that sense it appears to meet Trump's demand for a NATO alliance in which European states do more to protect themselves and rely less on the U.S.
But what works for a relatively small-scale naval patrol may not be replicable for the defense of a continent, where European allies rely heavily on advanced American capabilities like anti-missile systems and midair refueling.
Some Europeans fear that Trump's warm words for Putin and his criticism of NATO allies are signs that he is preparing to abandon the traditional U.S. role in Europe's security.
'It is clear that the Americans — or in any case, the Americans in this administration — do not care much about the fate of Europe,' said Friedrich Merz, the incoming chancellor of Germany, in a televised interview hours after his general election victory on Feb. 23.
Pete Hegseth, the U.S. defense secretary, has said that while the Trump administration remains committed to NATO's core principle of collective defense it was shifting its focus from Europe to the Pacific.
NATO naval officers interviewed by NBC News insisted that the political tensions between the U.S. and its European allies were not filtering down to the operational level. 'We are still NATO, we are one, and we are working together, absolutely,' said Kockx.
At the stern of the Hinnøy, there were what appeared to be three small, bright orange submarines. Each was in fact a different type of underwater drone. They were designed for the ship's original purpose of finding and disarming naval mines.
But they have also proved helpful in giving the crew a detailed look at the undersea cables they are tasked with protecting. One crew member laid an appreciative hand on a Pluto Plus 40, an Italian-made drone about two yards long equipped with several cameras.
'It's a very effective way to get eyes down at the sea bottom,' he said.
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