Brunssum, Netherlands – Monday, June the 15th, the Distinguished Visitors Day for NATO’s maritime exercise in the Baltic Sea Region BALTOPS took place in a virtual format.
General Jörg Vollmer, Commander JFC Brunssum, addressed in his remarks senior key military leaders of NATO and allied participating nations, as Vice Admiral Lisa Franchetti, Commander Naval Striking and Support Forces NATO & U.S. Navy 6th Fleet and officer conducting the exercise.
BALTOPS is a visible demonstration of NATO’s commitment to promote peace and security in the region by exercising the forces that can rapidly respond in a time of crisis. It will enable forces to enhance combat readiness, so that collectively NATO Allies and partners can respond to any threat. NATO partners are an integral component to the success of the Alliance, and are critical to the Alliance’s ability to project stability beyond its borders.
“BALTOPS is a unique opportunity to the NATO community; training and exercising a significant level of interoperability, confirming that Allies remain strong in support of each other and that they stand firmly, side by side, in deterring potential adversaries,” General Vollmer pointed out.
NOTE: BALTOPS 2020 includes around 39 vessels, 31 aircraft and approx. 4,000 personnel from 17 NATO and two partner nations. It is an annual international maritime led joint exercise in the Baltic Sea Region; conducted the 49th time in 2020. The exercise demonstrates that NATO Allies and partners stand united and ready to deter conflict and defend the sovereignty of Baltic nations through sea control and power projection, and to defeat acts of aggression in the region.