Flyvefisken-class patrol
Littoral warfare platforms such as the Flyvefisken-class patrol vessel, can operate in the Baltic and Black Seas without violating the Montreux Convention.
U.S. Navy (Shannon Renfroe)

Baltic and Black Sea Navies Must Invest in Littoral Warfare

By Lieutenant Colin Barnard, U.S. Navy
December 2019
Proceedings
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In an article last year, Lieutenant Ian Sundstrom and I argued for an upgunned patrol craft (PC) to replace the current fleet of Cyclone-class PCs nearing the end of their already extended service life. More recently, we argued for the U.S. Navy to double-down on forward deployment of such PCs or missile corvettes to increase capability and deterrence across multiple theaters of operations at low cost and to be poised for a fight inside strategic bodies of water. In addition to these strategies, the United States’ NATO allies and partners in the Baltic and Black Seas need to invest in littoral warfare. 

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Lieutenant Colin Barnard, U.S. Navy

Lieutenant Barnard is serving as a staff operations and plans officer at NATO Maritime Command in Northwood, U.K. He was previously gunnery officer on board the USS Arleigh Burke (DDG-51) and weapons officer on board the Firebolt (PC-10), and he was recently selected to be a foreign area officer in Europe. He graduated from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland with a master’s in terrorism studies and holds a bachelor’s in political science from Abilene Christian University in Texas.

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