Naval exercise to start at the end of May
MTH-17 Lyydia is an exercise arranged annually by the Finnish Navy for its naval and coastal units. The exercise will be held in the Gulf of Finland from 22 May to 1 June 2017.
The purpose of the Lyydia exercise is to develop the command and control, the use of fires in maritime operations and readiness skills of the naval units and echelons. The exercise objective is to practise different areas of naval warfare and the use of fires in the Baltic Sea area.
Personnel, conscripts and reservists from all the brigade-level units of the Finnish Navy will participate in the exercise. Commanding officer of the MTH-17 Lyydia exercise is the Chief of Readiness, Captain (N) Tuomas Tiilikainen.
Hämeenmaa-class minelayers, Rauma- and Hamina-class fast attack missile craft and Katanpää-class Mine Hunter Coastal Vessels, as well as support vessels and units from the coastal units will participate in the exercise.
High readiness and skilled personnel
The military defence of Finland relies on the ability to act on land, at sea, in the air and in the cyber environment. Maritime operations include laying naval mines, missile fire, anti-submarine warfare, surface-based air defence and mine counter-measure activities.
The objective of maritime operations is to enable the use of maritime areas in line with the own objectives and to prevent the enemy from using these areas and thus prevent the enemy from achieving its objectives. These tasks requires reconnaissance, surveillance and target designation capabilities, the use of deep fires, precision weaponry and unmanned aircraft as well as national and international co-operation between military and civilian authorities.
The core of the Finnish naval defence capability is made up of the coastal and naval units. The Lyydia exercise supports the skill development of the Finnish Navy units for carrying out maritime operations, strengthens the co-operation between services and improves the echelons' command and control readiness.
In addition to naval units, units from the Army, the Air Force, the Border Guard and the Logistics Command also participate in the exercise. The total strength of the exercise is approximately 2250 persons. The MTH-17 Lyydia exercise is held in accordance with the Finnish Navy Action Plan.
The Lyydia exercise will be the last military exercise for the coastal unit conscripts mustering out in June. For students at the Naval Academy the exercise is a central element in their education and for personnel and reservists it offers an important opportunity to develop their skills.
