
The latest three week-long NATO Baltic Operation (BALTOPS) exercise wrapped on June 20 in Germany, with participation from 20 allied member states. The event started with a June 4 pre-sail conference then the underway portion began on June 8. The exercise included over 50 ships, 85 aircraft and 9,000 personnel. The U.S. Navy underscored this 53rd edition of BALTOPS was the largest version ever and exclusively included NATO allies with the recent addition of Finland and Sweden to the alliance.…