Three F-16 fighters from Anchialos departed for Germany to participate in the largest NATO Air Defender exercise of recent years.
It should be recalled that in the initial planning of this exercise the Germans had not invited Greece and only after the intervention of General Constantine Floros, General of the Armed Forces, Berlin rectified this omission.
But it seems that NATO in general or, according to Pentapostagma's information, its Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who had talks with Erdogan on the sidelines of the fiesta for his new term at the helm of Turkey, made sure that Greece was not invited to the other major exercise taking place in the Baltic Sea, while Turkey is among the participating countries with three F-16 fighters and two officers from the Turkish Navy.
The announcement by the US Forces Europe Command and the 6th Fleet mentioned among others the following: "Nineteen NATO Allies, one NATO Partner Nation, 50 ships, more than 45 aircraft and approximately 6,000 personnel began the 52nd iteration of Baltic Operations 2023 (BALTOPS 23) today in Tallinn, Estonia, June 4, 2023.
This premier annual maritime-focused exercise in the Baltic Sea region takes place from 4 to 16 June and provides a unique training opportunity to enhance the combined response capability critical to maintaining freedom of navigation and security in the Baltic Sea.
Participating States include Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Spain, Sweden, the United States and the United Kingdom.
Notably, although Finland has regularly participated in previous iterations, this year marks the first time Finland will participate in the exercise as a member of the NATO Alliance. BALTOPS remains a proving ground for the Alliance and is vital in strengthening the cutting edge of combined interoperability with allied partner countries in and around the Baltic Sea.
These countries will exercise myriad capabilities, demonstrating the inherent flexibility of naval forces. Exercise scenarios include amphibious operations, naval gunfire, anti-submarine operations, air defence and mine clearance, as well as explosive ordnance disposal, unmanned submarine and surface vehicle exercises.
This year's exercise includes, for the first time, robust training in personnel recovery using unmanned surface vehicles. Another enhancement to BALTOPS23 is the collaboration of sixteen chaplains representing three different faith/lifestyle traditions from eight participating nations. Their focus is to promote the strength of spirit that enables Sailors and Marines to complete the mission with honor. These additions - along with other submarine and space areas, will build on the stories from last year's BALTOPS 2022 scenario, including the integration of the NATO Space Center for space domain scenarios".
