Around 8,600 personnel from 18 nations are taking part in the annual BALTOPS naval exercise that started on Sunday in Germany’s Baltic Sea port of Kiel.
Russia used to participate in the exercise but has not been invited since its illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014 and its continuing destabilising of eastern Ukraine.
The 47th BALTOPS exercise involves maritime, air and ground forces with about 50 ships and submarines and 40 aircraft and will run through to the 21st of June.
The training includes finding and destroying sea mines and submarines, the use of air defence and landing troops onshore as well as defence against attack from enemy vessels.
“The Baltic Sea is of vital strategic importance for the Alliance and is bordered by six NATO countries”, said NATO spokesperson Oana Lungescu.
“BALTOPS is now in its 47th year and is not directed against anyone – but clearly the security environment in the region has deteriorated after Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea.” She added, ”BALTOPS tests how well our forces work together and shows that NATO can defend itself against any adversary.”
BALTOPS is the largest exercise series in the Baltic Sea. Participating troops come from Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
When will Germany start to build a navy to be proud of again, they sure are rich enough, they are the only G7 nation that has a money surplus every year! But now the Mass economic immigration from most crap nations (that supposed to be refugees fleeing war) is costing many billions and getting more every year so the surplus might go in the near future…We British were getting close to having a surplus then Brexit happend!.
Anyway has Germany ever had an aircraft carrier that was operational?
I think the Graf Zeppelin never went to sea, and was either laid up or scrapped before the end of WW2. I’m not sure which ship is in the photo at the top, Spanish? If it is it’s a long way from home playing around in the Baltic! But you are right on the amount they don’t spend on their own defence, I think it is only about 1% of their quite large GDP. As my school reports tended to say, should do better!
Interesting question Not aware that they have though historically certainly had planned them pre war I believe but provetd pointless in the circumstances. Interestingly after their disasters at the hands of British carriers in the Med early war Italy hurriedly rebuilt merchant ships as carriers one being complete at the time of their capitulation with implications since.
When will you stop posting pointless stuff on here.
You were kicked off for being a complete moron now you’ve come back under a different name posting the same stupid stuff.
Who me? I’ve never been kicked of anything, ever.