NATO to hold naval exercise in Baltic Sea

Scores of ships and aircraft from 17 countries are taking part in Baltic Sea naval drills as part of NATO exercise BALTOPS which starts on Friday and runs until June 20, NATO said in a press release Thursday.

The exercise, which is led by the United States, will feature anti-submarine warfare, air defense, intercepting suspect vessels and amphibious landings.

A total of 49 ships, 61 aircraft, one submarine, and a combined amphibious landing force of 700 U.S. , Finnish and Swedish troops will participate in the drills.

Fourteen NATO Allies are joining this year as well as NATO partners Finland, Georgia and Sweden. Overall, 5,600 troops will be involved.

"This exercise represents an important opportunity for our forces, as allies and partners, to enhance our ability to work together and strengthen capabilities required to maintain regional security," said Vice Admiral James Foggo III, the commander of naval striking and support forces for NATO.

The annual BALTOPS exercise, which has been held since 1971, is not in response to any specific threat, according to the press release.

However, NATO has increased its military presence in the eastern part of its alliance in response to the Ukraine crisis since last year.

BALTOPS is one of NATO's several major multinational exercises this month.

Exercise Steadfast Cobalt will be held on Sunday in Walcz, Poland with a view to testing communications systems, in which nearly 1,000 personnel will participate over two weeks. Exercise Noble Jump, the first deployment test for NATO's new quick reaction force will take place in Poland from June 9 to 19. Endit