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 Oeiras, Portugal, has been leading the planning, coordination and execution of the exercise since 2015. BALTOPS 50 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 50 involves participation from 18 nations. The 16 NATO and 2 partner nations will provide approximately 40 maritime units, 60 aircraft, and 4,000 personnel, between June 6-18.
The participating nations are: Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, the U.K., and the U.S.