NATO launches major Baltic Sea naval exercise BALTOPS

NATO's two-week Baltic Sea naval exercise BALTOPS has launched from the Polish port of Gdynia, with more than 30 vessels from 15 nations and around 6,000 military personnel taking part, the German Navy said on Wednesday, reported dpa. The exercise is being led by the US Navy, and ends in the German port city of Kiel. Germany is participating with the frigate Sachsen-Anhalt, the corvettes Braunschweig and Erfurt, the submarine U34 and a maritime patrol aircraft. All BALTOPS units were increasing NATO's marine presence, said Rear Admiral Stephan Haisch. "Ships, boats, naval aircraft and unmanned systems will all be deployed," he said. Robust deterrence The main focus of the large-scale exercise is securing freedom of navigation in the Baltic Sea. The exercise also aims to demonstrate robust deterrence, according to the navy. The Baltic Sea is considered strategically important, not least in light of Russia's war against Ukraine. Russia is the only one of the nine Baltic Sea coastal states that is not a NATO member. The BALTOPS exercise dates back to the Cold War. According to the navy, the US aircraft carrier Intrepid sailed into the Baltic Sea in May 1971 together with three destroyers to demonstrate its capabilities. The group came within 20 nautical miles (37 kilometres) of the Soviet coastline and was monitored around the clock by Soviet reconnaissance aircraft. NATO naval forces were to be able to advance into the Baltic Sea, while enemy warships were to be denied the reverse route into the North Sea and thus into the Atlantic.