English: Baltic Sea (Jun. 11, 2003) -- Sailors launch a "killer tomato" prior to executing a small arms training exercise aboard the Ticonderoga class cruiser USS Vella Gulf (CG 72) during the annual maritime exercise Baltic Operations 2003 (BALTOPS 2003). A "killer tomato" is a large orange balloon used as a target during live fire targeting exercises for small caliber weapons. The United States and 12 other nations are participating in this year's exercise. BALTOPS 2003 is intended to improve interoperability between allies and Partnership for Peace countries by conducting a peace support operation at sea including exercises in gunnery, replenishment-at-sea, undersea warfare, radar tracking, mine countermeasures, seamanship, search and rescue, maritime interdiction operations, and scenarios dealing with potentially real world crises. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer’s Mate 2nd Class Michael Sandberg. (RELEASED)