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BALTOPS exercises began in the Baltic Sea 19
Author:Mariusz Dasiewicz
In the Baltic Sea, the largest international exercise called BALTOPS 19 began this year. As part of the exercises, Polish ships of the 8th Coast Defence Fleet left the ports in Świnoujście and Gdynia and headed for the port in Kielonia (Germany).
A port phase of the exercises called the "Pre-Sail Conference" was conducted in Kilonia, which included briefings and crew meetings preceding sea maneuvers. These meetings set out details of the exercises, and the commanders of the ships were also given the first, training introductions and tasks.
The primary forces involved in this year's edition of the BALTOPS exercise came out of ports and began practical maneuvers at sea, where for the next two weeks crews will practice conducting international sea operations.
Almost 50 ships from several countries participate in the BTOPS 19 exercise. These are ships from Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, France, Finland, the Netherlands, Spain, Lithuania, Latvia, Germany, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Sweden, the United States, Turkey and the United Kingdom.
The maneuvers will take place in the region of the Central Baltic and, among others, in the maritime fields of the Baltic States and Sweden. Over 8,600 soldiers will be involved.
- The Coast Defence Flotilla from Świnoujście directed to take part in the training of subdued forces, i.e. the trawlers of the ORP "Gardno" of the 12th Trags Division, the ORP "Wedzydze" of the 13th Trags Squadron and the ORP "Gniezno" transport-min ship from the 2nd Transport-Minion Ship Squadron, on which the soldiers and equipment from the 8th Bomber Battalion of Dziwnow were boarded, as well as the Bank Rescue Group and the 43rd Bomber Battalion of the 3rd Ship Flotilla.
Ships will perform their tasks as intended, while floating PTS-M transporters will be ready for landing operations from the ORP deck Angers as planned.
ALTOPS exercises have been organized in the Baltic Sea since 1972. Initially, it was an exercise involving the forces of the North Atlantic Alliance. Since 1993, new states from the former eastern bloc, including Poland, were invited to participate in the maneuvers. Since then, the BALTOPS exercise has been organised under the Peace Partnership Programme.
It is now an international exercise, based primarily on joint maritime activities, with particular emphasis on the exploration and combating of submarines, mine warfare, air defence and sea landing operations.
Signature: ER
