Large-scale Baltic Shield 2026 military exercise brings sense of security to Bornholm residents

A major military exercise involving Danish and Polish forces on the Danish island of Bornholm has been met with calm by locals, who say the show of strength provides reassurance amid global tensions, DR reports.

Residents have grown accustomed this week to the sight of soldiers in the streets, Polish military vehicles on narrow roads, and helicopters overhead as part of Baltic Shield 2026, one of the largest military drills in the island’s recent history. The exercise has brought gunfire near coastal areas, restricted access to beaches, and heavy military traffic at unusual hours.

Yet rather than causing alarm, many Bornholmers describe the activity as a source of comfort. Benny Ralf Nielsen, a resident of southern Bornholm, told DR the presence of troops was “reassuring given the current state of the world.”

Jan Hansen, a pensioner from Åkirkeby, said he had seen radar vehicles and heard frequent gunshots but remained unfazed. “This is what’s needed right now, given the situation,” he said, citing global crises such as the war in Ukraine as reasons for the exercise’s necessity.

Others, like Birgit Sonne, who lives near the Raghammer firing range, have adjusted to temporary disruptions—such as closed beach access—while acknowledging the island’s strategic vulnerability. “We’re an exposed island, so it’s fine,” she said, though she added she looked forward to the exercise’s conclusion and the return of normalcy.

The Danish Defence Forces have described Baltic Shield 2026 as a large-scale test of “serious, hard-hitting” military capabilities, marking the most extensive drill of its kind on Bornholm in recent years.