Liepaja, Latvia
Latvian Baltic port city; NATO's Baltic UUV operations hub and former Soviet submarine base.
Liepaja is Latvia's third-largest city and a former Soviet submarine base that hosted US Navy uncrewed underwater vehicle operations during NATO's BALTOPS exercise in June 2026.
Last refreshed: 24 July 2026
From Soviet submarine pens to NATO UUV hub: has Liepaja become the Baltic's most strategically transformed city?
Timeline for Liepaja, Latvia
Mentioned in: Undersea robots go core at BALTOPS
Autonomous Systems: Land & SeaBackground
Liepaja is Latvia's third-largest city, on the Baltic coast about 200 km west of Riga, with a population of around 70,000. Its northern district, Karosta, was built as a closed Russian imperial naval city between 1890 and 1906 and remained a major Soviet submarine base, with nuclear weapon storage, until Russian troops withdrew in 1994.
Since Latvian independence the town has run a modern commercial port, and Latvia's 2004 NATO accession turned Liepaja into a frontline alliance port on the north-eastern flank. During BALTOPS 2026 in June, the US Navy's Unmanned Undersea Vehicle Group 1 operated Iver3 autonomous underwater vehicles from Liepaja for seabed mapping and harbour-protection work, and a multinational drill on 10 June paired US, Dutch and Latvian crews there.
Karosta's imperial and Soviet-era fortifications remain a Heritage-tourism draw alongside the town's active defence role.
Where is Liepaja and why is it important to NATO?
What is Karosta in Liepaja?
What did the US Navy do in Liepaja during BALTOPS 2026?
Written with AI from Lowdown's published reporting. Not individually reviewed by an editor. Updated 24 July 2026. Editorial standards.