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 in the 1980s and 1990s

In 1985, Commander, Destroyer Squadron 14, was tasked with exercising freedom of navigation in the Baltic 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)

BALTOPS 2015 (43rd)

17 countries took part in BALTOPS which starts on 5 June until 20 June. Allied participation demonstrates NATO's resolve to defend the Baltic region, and will hone the ability of Allies and partners to work together.

Participants include Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Georgia, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

BALTOPS 2015 participating vessels:

*EML Sakala (M314)
*EML Tasuja (A432)
*HDMS Peter Willemoes (F362)