BALTOPS

BALTOPS (Baltic Operations) is an annual military exercise, held and sponsored by the Commander, United States Naval Forces Europe, since 1971, in the Baltic Sea and the regions surrounding it. The purpose of BALTOPS is to train gunnery, replenishment at sea, anti-submarine warfare (ASW), radar tracking & interception, mine countermeasures, seamanship, search and rescue, maritime interdiction operations and scenarios dealing with potential real world crises and maritime security.

BALTOPS (Baltic Operations) is an annual military exercise, held and sponsored by the Commander, United States Naval Forces Europe, since 1971, in the Baltic Sea and the regions surrounding it. The purpose of BALTOPS is to train gunnery, replenishment at sea, anti-submarine warfare (ASW), radar tracking & interception, mine countermeasures, seamanship, search and rescue, maritime interdiction operations and scenarios dealing with potential real world crises and maritime security. ==BALTOPS in the 1980s and 1990s== In 1985, Commander, Destroyer Squadron 14, was tasked with exercising freedom of navigation in the Baltic Sea and U.S. support for Northern European NATO countries. The mission of the first BALTOPS was to 'show-the-flag' to maintain the U.S. right to sail in international waters, even those in the Soviet Union's backyard. BALTOPS '85 added the objective of increasing the U.S. Navy's tactical proficiency in a strategically vital and challenging sea and air environment. To do this, Commander Destroyer Squadron 14 was assigned a Surface Action Group of six ships: , , , , , and . In late June 1990, Rear Admiral Thomas D. Paulson, Commander Cruiser-Destroyer Group Two, led and to visit Poland in conjunction with BALTOPS '90. Their port call at Gdynia represented the first visit by United States Navy vessels to Poland since 1927. Since 1993 it has been a major contributor to the NATO programme Partnership for Peace, which aims to strengthen and create trust amongst former Soviet Union states (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania) its former satellites (Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia) and NATO. All these states have since joined NATO. Common participants are (but not limited to): Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Sweden, United Kingdom, United States of America (commanding country) The 26th annual maritime exercise Baltic Operations (BALTOPS) '98 in the Western Baltic Sea took place from June 8–June 19, 1998. During the exercise, the commander, Carrier Group Eight, commanded the exercise from USS Vella Gulf. ==BALTOPS 2008 (36th)== BALTOPS 2008 took place between 8 June to 18 June 2008. Its objective was to promote mutual understanding, confidence, cooperation, and interoperability among the forces and personnel of the participating nations, as well as support national unit and staff training through a series of exercises. BALTOPS 2008 included surface warships, submarines, aircraft, and ground forces from Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Russia, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Rear Admiral Daniel P. Holloway supervised BALTOPS 2008, and the guided-missile cruiser served as his flagship during this exercise. Gettysburg was accompanied by the guided-missile destroyer and the fleet oiler as part of the U.S. Navy's Task Group 369.4. Following BALTOPS 2008, the Cole paid a port visit to Stockholm, Sweden, on 27 June 2008, and Gettysburg paid a post-exercise port visit to Kiel, Germany. Gettysburg returned to Naval Station Mayport, Florida, on 14 July 2008, completing this two-month-long 2008 surge deployment for Carrier Strike Group Twelve. ==BALTOPS 2009 (37th)== On 16 June 2009, USNI bloggers took part in a DOD Bloggers Roundtable with Rear Admiral John Christenson, USN, Commander of Carrier Strike Group 12, the Enterprise carrier strike group. The topic of the call was BALTOPS 2009. According to DODLive, "BALTOPS 09 is a joint operation that allows personnel from partner nations to prepare for disaster relief efforts, humanitarian assistance, and peacekeeping efforts." Moreover, according to DODLive, "this is the 37th anniversary of Exercise BALTOPS and includes Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States." BALTOPS 2009 participating vessels: HDMS Glenten (P557) HDMS Makrelen (P554) HDMS Esbern Snare (L17) HDMS Thetis (F357) HDMS Peter Tordenskiold (F356) HMS St Albans (F83) FGS Elbe (A511) FGS Karlsruhe (F212) FGS Hameln (M1092) FGS Puma (P6122) FGS Nerz (P6124) FGS Zobel (P6125) USS Forrest Sherman (DDG-98) USS Mount Whitney (LCC-20) ==BALTOPS 2011 (39th)== BALTOPS 2011 occurs from 3–17 June 2011 among NATO and Partnership for Peace participants. Led by the United States, BALTOPS is a USEUCOM directed, COMUSNAVEUR sponsored, and United States Sixth Fleet executed exercise. The primary planning and execution commander is Commander Carrier Strike Group Eight. The mission of BALTOPS 2011 was interoperability among forces and personnel of participating national unit and staff training objectives through a series of robust training exercises. BALTOPS 2011 participating countries include Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, France, Georgia, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, The Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the United States. BALTOPS 2011 participating vessels: EML Ugandi (M315) HDMS Absalon (L16) HDMS Havkatten (P 522) HNLMS De Ruyter (F804) HSwMS Gävle (K22) HSwMS Sundsvall (K24) Leopold I (F930) RFS Minsk (127) ORP Generał Tadeusz Kościuszko (273) FGS Schleswig-Holstein (F216) LKL Sūduvis (M52) USS Philippine Sea (CG-58) File:East German frigate Berlin underway on 1 October 1985 (6409381).jpg|East Germany Koni class frigate Berlin underway during NATO Exercise BALTOPS '85, on 1 October 1985 File:USS Harry E. Yarnell (CG-17) docked at Gdynia, Poland, on 27 June 1990 (6457711).jpg|USS Harry E. Yarnell at Gdynia during BALTOPS '90 File:HMS Smyge front.jpg|HSwMS Smyge underway during BALTOPS '94, on 7 June 1994 File:US Navy 040611-N-1823S-244 The Polish Lublin-class minelayer ORP Poznan, opens its ramp in preparation to receive U.S. Marine Reservists on a Zodiac combat raiding raft.jpg|ORP Poznań during BALTOPS '04 File:US Navy 050606-N-5258M-011 Russian destroyer RFS Nastoychivyy (DD 610) is currently underway participating in Baltic Operations (BALTOPS) 2005.jpg|Russian Navy Nastoychivyy underway during BALTOPS '05 File:Finnish Rauma-class missile boat FNS Naantali (PTG 73).jpg|Finnish Navy Naantali underway during BALTOPS '08 File:US Navy 100608-N-3970R-426 The amphibious command ship USS Mount Whitney (LCC-JCC 20) and the Russian navy landing ship Kaliningrad (LSTM 102) are underway in formation on the second day of Baltic Operations (BALTOPS) exercise.jpg|USS Mount Whitney during BALTOPS '10 File:A Pilatus PC-9 aircraft simulates an airborne chemical attack against the Royal Danish Navy ocean patrol vessel HDMS Thetis (F357) in the Baltic Sea June 13, 2013, as part of Baltic Operations (BALTOPS) 2013 130613-N-ZZ999-034.jpg|A Pilatus PC-9 simulates an airborne chemical attack against the Royal Danish Navy HDMS Thetis (F357) during BALTOPS '13, on 13 June 2013. File:180609-N-TJ319-0139 (42734546251).jpg|TCG Gediz and HDMS Iver Huitfeldt during BALTOPS '19, on 9 June 2019 File:KDM Søløven (Y311) at anchor in the Baltic Sea on 16 June 2019 (190616-N-FC670-005).JPG|Royal Danish Navy patrol vessel Søløven at anchor during BALTOPS '19, on 16 June 2019 File:Lithuanian minesweeper Skalvis (M53) underway in the Baltic Sea on 16 June 2020 (200615-N-NO901-0036).JPG|Lithuanian Navy Hunt-class mine-hunter Skalvis during BALTOPS '20 File:German frigate Lübeck (F214) underway in the Baltic Sea on 8 June 2020 (200608-N-RG482-0423).JPG|German Navy frigate Lübeck underway during BALTOPS '20, on 8 June 2020 ==References==

Text derived from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1363842302 under CC BY-SA 4.0; modifications have been made.