BALTIC OPERATIONS (BALTOPS) is an annual military exercise, held and sponsored by Commander, United States Naval Forces Europe, since 1972, in the Baltic Sea and the regions surrounding it. BALTOPS is the premier maritime-led exercise in the Baltic Sea region and one of the largest exercises in northern Europe. Naval Striking and Support Forces NATO (STRIKFORNATO), headquartered in Lisbon, Portugal, has been leading the planning, coordination and execution of the exercise since 2015. BALTOPS 20 also has the core aim of delivering high-end training across the entire spectrum of naval warfare, including Anti-Aircraft Warfare, Air-Maritime integration, Anti-Surface Warfare, Anti-Submarine Warfare, live gunnery and Mine Countermeasures operations, as well as Maritime Interdiction Operations and exercising against the Asymmetric Threat.
BALTOPS 20 will involve 19 nations (17 NATO Allies and 2 Partner Nations), with 29 maritime units, 29 aircraft and up to 3,000 personnel, between June 7 - 16.
There are 13 nations providing units: Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden, the U.K., and the U.S.
Nations participating without units: Portugal, France, Italy, Spain, Greece, and Turkey.
Information
BALTOPS 2020 Press Release