NATO's largest naval military exercise begins

(Patria) - NATO's largest naval military exercise, named "Baltops 24", begins today in Lithuania, the Polish Armed Forces announced.

"This year's exercises involve more than 50 ships of various classes and types, as well as 45 aircraft and 9,000 soldiers. NATO's most important naval exercise will begin today in Klaipėda, Lithuania," the statement said.

The military emphasizes that representatives of all branches of the Polish Armed Forces will participate in the exercises, and that the Polish fleet is represented by ships of the Third Ship Flotilla and the Eighth Coastal Defense Flotilla.

The statement adds that the exercise scenario includes responses to conflicts between fictitious countries, and that the exercise itself is defensive in nature.

A total of 20 Alliance members are participating in the exercises: Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Spain, the Netherlands, Lithuania, Latvia, Germany, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sweden, Turkey, the United Kingdom, Italy, and the United States.

Activities will be conducted in the Baltic Sea basin, as well as off the coasts of Sweden, Poland, Germany, and Lithuania.