The region comes to a crisis and United Nations Security Council is adopting a resolution legitimizing the international group of ships to come into the region and stabilize the situation. This is the basic assumption for the scenario of this year’s BALTOPS exercise.
Eight Polish Navy ships, two helicopters and one patrol aircraft are taking part in BALTOPS 2013 exercise on the Baltic. The Partnership for Peace exercise will last until June 22.
BALTOPS 2013 is the multinational exercise of cooperation between ships, airplanes and helicopters of 10 countries: Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Germany, The Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, and the USA. Polish Navy operates with six minesweepers: ORP ‘Goplo’, ORP ‘Mamry’, ORP ‘Wdzydze’, ORP ‘Gardno’, ORP ‘Bukowo’ and ORP ‘Hancza’, submarine ORP ‘Orzel’, two Mi-14 PL anti-submarine helicopters and patrol-reconnaissance airplane Bryza. Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group One – SNMCMG1 under Polish command with the flagship ORP ‘Czernicki’ is also a part of this exercise.
Polish forces participating in the exercise BALTOPS 2013 will mainly perform tasks related to the safety of maritime transportation routes. Mi-14 PL helicopter will cooperate with other units to protect maritime forces against the submarines. Minesweepers will be responsible mainly for protecting the main forces and sea lanes of communication against the sea mines. BALTOPS is an annual, international sea exercise designed to enhance interoperability of naval forces of the Partnership for Peace in the Baltic Sea region.
[mappress] Press Release, June 17, 2013; Image: Polish Navy