BALTOPS 17 to set sail in June

The 45^th edition of Exercise BALTIC OPERATIONS (BALTOPS) will take place in the Baltic Sea from 1 to 16 June. Air, maritime, and ground assets from several NATO Allies and Partner Nations will be involved in the live training event that sets sail from Szczecin, Poland and finishes in Kiel, Germany.

BALTOPS is an annual recurring multinational, maritime-focused exercise designed to provide high end training for the participants. This year 14 countries (Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, the United Kingdom, the United States and NATO’s Enhanced Opportunities Partners: Finland and Sweden) will participate.

The exercise, which will involve 4,000 shipboard personnel, 50 ships and submarines and more than 50 aircraft, is designed to enhance flexibility and interoperability, to strengthen combined response capabilities, as well as demonstrate resolve among Allied and Partner Nations’ forces to ensure stability in, and if necessary defend, the Baltic Sea region.

BALTOPS, which began in 1972, continues to be an excellent opportunity for NATO and regional partners to strengthen interoperability through a series of combined tactical manoeuvres and scenarios.