NATO has kicked off its annual Dynamic Manta anti-submarine warfare exercise off the Sicilian coast in Italy.
Ships, jets, submarines, and military personnel from nine allied countries including Canada, Greece, France, Spain, and Italy assembled in the Central Mediterranean Sea for the military training that began on February 21.
The exercise provides the participating nations with complex and challenging combat training to increase their proficiency and interoperability in anti-surface and anti-submarine warfare.
It is one of the two major anti-submarine warfare exercises scheduled every year in the European country and is led by the NATO Maritime Command.
Ex #DynamicManta22 kicked off yesterday off the Italian coast. HMCS Montréal and @RCAF_ARC CP-140 Aurora joins ships, submarines, aircraft, and personnel from 🇫🇷🇩🇪🇬🇷🇮🇹🇪🇸🇹🇷🇺🇸🇬🇧 for anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare training. #WeAreNATO @RoyalCanNavy @COM_SNMG2 @NATO_MARCOM pic.twitter.com/tCRvG1zNaG
— Canadian Joint Operations Command (@CJOC_COIC) February 22, 2022
Interoperable NATO Force
“NATO’s maritime power lies in the ability of the Standing Forces to rapidly join with high readiness, high capacity national forces to deliver effects when and where needed,” Rear Admiral Stephen Mack, Commander Submarines NATO, said in a statement.
“Exercises like this, along with regular training between Allied navy units and our multinational Standing Naval Forces, is a force multiplier that provides a collectively trained and interoperable force, ready to work together as the maritime portion of the VJTF [Very High Joint Readiness Task Force],” Mack added.
As a part of the training, each surface ship will undergo multiple submarine warfare operations. Submarines from France, Greece, and Italy joined too, with countries taking turns hunting and simultaneously closely coordinating with the air and surface partners.
Maritime patrol aircraft from countries including France, the UK, the US, and Germany will also participate and support the vessels during the training.
