On June 2 patrol ship LNS Dzūkas (P12) of the Lithuanian Navy left for Tallinn (Estonia) and command and supply ship LNS Jotvingis (N42) left for Stockholm (Sweden) to join multinational maritime exercise BALTOPS 16 running on June 3 through 19.
The exercise takes place in the territorial waters and exclusive economic zones of Estonia, Finland, Germany, Poland, and Sweden in the Baltic Sea. The event is attended by military ships (50 vessels of various types) and aircraft (61 aircraft) from 17 NATO and partner states (i.e., Finland and Sweden), and over 6 thousand soldiers.
This the Lithuanian Navy has a distinguished role in BALTOPS 16: Lieutenant Commander Tadas Jablonskis of the Lithuanian Navy currently in command of the Baltic Naval Squadron, BALTRON, will also lead one of the three mine countermeasures units (including ships from Estonia, France, Germany, Latvia and Lithuania, and a US EOD divers team) formed for BALTOPS 16.
BALTOPS 16 follows a fictional scenario depicting a conflict between fictional states. According to the scenario, exercises participants form two groups, one of them is the side assisting and defending the state under attack, and the other one is the hostile side. The exercise creates an opportunity for ship crews to test their readiness to complete combat tasks in realistic environment.
The exercise will also train and refine procedures of ship formation manoeuvres, convoy, artillery fire, aircraft and anti-terrorist defence, mine countermeasures, antisubmarine warfare, amphibious assault, etc.
The key objectives of the annual US Navy-organised exercise in the Baltic Sea is to expand the scale of complex operations with participation from NATO and Northern countries, to increase and enhance cooperation and interoperability of participating countries, and develop competence in participating nations' navies.
The Lithuanian Navy has been deploying to BALTOPS annually since 1993. In 2012, when the exercise was held in the central part of the Baltic Sea, i.e., territorial waters and exclusive economic zones of Lithuania and Poland, the first ever NATO amphibious landing operation on the Lithuanian coast was completed.
CIMIC officer, Lithuanian Navy HQ, PO1 Audrius Vitkauskas
File image of the Lithuanian Navy
