NATO launches BALTOPS 2026 exercise to deter Russia in Baltic
Twenty NATO warships sailed from the Polish port of Gdynia on Tuesday to begin BALTOPS 2026, the alliance's 55th annual maritime exercise in the Baltic Sea, involving around 6,000 personnel from 15 nations. US Sixth Fleet commanders framed the drill as a deterrent message to Russia, with the exercise for the first time since 1972 under day-to-day command of NATO's Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum. Deputy commander Lieutenant General John Mead said the first of three objectives was to "deter Russian threats in the Baltic Sea region."
Twenty NATO warships sailed from the Polish port of Gdynia on Tuesday to begin BALTOPS 2026, the 55th running of the alliance's annual maritime exercise in the Baltic Sea, involving around 6,000 personnel from 15 nations.
The exercise is led by the US Sixth Fleet, headquartered in Naples. For the first time since 1972, day-to-day command and control of the drill is run from Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum, one of NATO's three operational-level headquarters. The alliance presented the shift as a way to give participants more realistic training under a NATO command structure rather than a national one.
Deputy commander at JFC Brunssum, Lieutenant General John Mead, set out three objectives for the exercise. The first, he said, was to "deter Russian threats in the Baltic Sea region," alongside building real readiness and interoperability among the ships, aircraft and units involved and tightening the alliance's own internal cohesion. Mead argued that deterrence was something that had to be demonstrated rather than merely talked about.
Vice commander of the US Sixth Fleet, Rear Admiral Jason Naidyhorski, framed the exercise as preventative rather than reactive. Through BALTOPS, he said, the allies were "actively working to prevent" a crisis by showing unified strength, pointing to the drill as another example of European allies stepping up to shoulder the lion's share of Europe's conventional deterrence and defence.
The Inspector of the Polish Navy, Rear Admiral Jarosław Ziemiański, told a pre-sail conference at Gdynia on Tuesday that hosting the fleet was an honour, calling the exercise "an expression of our solidarity, determination and readiness" to meet alliance commitments.
Participating nations include Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sweden, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States. Also involved are NATO's Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group 1 and Commander Task Force Baltic.