Over 30 NATO Warships To Take Part In Baltops 23 In Estonia - Estonian Defense Forces

The NATO Baltops 23 navy exercises will start in Estonia on Saturday following the arrival of over 30 NATO warships, the Estonian Defense Forces said on Tuesday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 30th May, 2023) The NATO Baltops 23 navy exercises will start in Estonia on Saturday following the arrival of over 30 NATO warships, the Estonian Defense Forces said on Tuesday.

"This year's largest naval exercise in the Baltic Sea, Baltops 23, will begin on Saturday in Tallinn. More than 30 NATO warships and nearly 3,700 sailors will arrive in the capital in the coming days for the exercise," the defense forces said in a statement.

Warships from the US, Sweden, Poland, Holland, Italy, Germany, the UK, France, Denmark, Spain, Lithuania, Latvia, Finland and Norway will be arriving in Tallinn, according to the statement. The biggest participating ship will be the USS Mount Whitney (LCC 20), a flagship of the United States' 6th Fleet, the statement read.

"This year's Baltops is a historic event for us, because there has never been such a large presence of NATO naval forces on Estonian soil at the same time," Commodore Juri Saska, Commander of the Estonian navy, was quoted as saying in the statement.

He added that the exercises show the allies' commitment to defend Estonia and the Baltic Sea region, and prove that training in Estonian waters is instrumental for its defense.

Baltops is an annual military exercise, held and sponsored by the United States Naval Forces Europe, since 1971, in the Baltic Sea and the regions surrounding it. The purpose of Baltops is to train agility of the NATO member states in ground, air and maritime warfare in the Baltic Sea region. The exercises are arranged by the US 6th Fleet.