14 NATO allies, 2 NATO partner nations to join exercise from June 5-17.
NATO will kick off an annual multinational exercise in the Baltic Sea early next month.
“Fourteen NATO Allies, two NATO partner nations, over 45 ships, more than 75 aircraft, and approximately 7,000 personnel will participate in the 51st iteration of the premier maritime-focused exercise from June 5-17,” NATO said in a statement on Saturday.
Among the participants will be Turkiye, Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden, the UK, and the US, it added.
Meanwhile, as NATO partner nations, Finland and Sweden will also participate in the drill, both recently applied to join the military alliance.
“They will exercise a myriad of capabilities demonstrating the inherent flexibility of maritime forces,” it noted.
This year, Sweden will host the BALTOPS 22 exercise, which was initiated for the first time in 1972.
“BALTOPS is an annual exercise that visibly demonstrates NATO’s commitment to preserving regional peace and security by exercising a team of international forces that can rapidly respond in a time of crisis,” NATO said.
-AA