Romanian frigate Queen Mary (Regina Maria) will join the military exercises conducted by NATO forces in the Black Sea in March. Meanwhile, Russian fighter aircrafts, which are watching every move NATO ships make, will use the opportunity to simulate attack scenarios.

"The participation of the Regina Maria frigate to the operations of the SNMG-2 naval group in the Black Sea represents Romania's contribution to NATO's immediate response package. Its aim is to consolidate trust and develop allies' interoperability,” Romania’s Defense Ministry announced in a press release.

The Standing NATO Maritime Group-2 (SNMG2) is one of the four Allied multinational naval groups. It serves as an integrated, permanent maritime force ready for action in peacetime or crisis situations.

American guided-missile cruiser USS Vicksburg (CG 69) is the group’s command ship and US Rear Admiral Brad Williamson is the commanding officer. The other members of the group are Canadian frigate HMCS Fredericton (FFH 337), Turkish frigate TCG Turgutreis (F 241), Italian frigate ITS Aliseo (F 574), Romanian Frigate Regina Maria (F 222), and German auxiliary ship FGS Spessart (A 1442).

The group planned the mission in the Black Sea in 2014. However, this exercise comes as tensions between NATO and Russia are increasing.

For the Russian forces at the Black Sea, NATO’s exercise is a good opportunity to test their offense strategy. Russian fighters will use the NATO ships to simulate attack scenarios, such as breaching the anti-air systems, according to sources from the Russian navy base in Sevastopol quoted by Sputnik.

"These ships' crews are doubtlessly conducting exercises in repelling air attacks from our planes, which gives our pilots the opportunity to gain experience in maneuvering and conducting aerial reconnaissance both in the range of anti-air systems and outside their range," the Russian sources said.

The Russian jets are also monitoring the movements of the NATO ships.

editor@romania-insider.com