The minesweeper of the Italian Navy Alghero has finished the multinational exercise "Spanish Minex 2018" and after a brief stop in the port of Palma de Mallorca left today to continue activities at sea together with the English unit Enterprise, to the Turkish minesweeper Anamur and to the Spanish minesweeper Segura which constitute the Standing Nato Mine Counter Measures Group 2 (SNMCMG2).
The "Spanish Minex" is a multinational exercise every year that takes place in the waters in front of the Balearic Islands and this year, in addition to the naval units included in the NATO group, saw the participation of the minesweepers of the Spanish navy, of the Greek navy Evropi and of the European device COMEUROMARFOR, composed of the Portuguese corvette Viana do Castello and from the Spanish minesweeper Duero.
The exercise, which began Monday 30 April with the departure of naval units from the port of Mahon, allowed the crews to train in the search and neutralization of naval mines, represented by inert simulacra, and was conducted by simulating an international crisis situation between two Countries with a high level of surface and air enemy threat to coalition ships.
Furthermore, it saw the exceptional presence of the Center for Maritime Research and Experimentation (CMRE), embarked on board theEnterprise with the aim of testing the capabilities of the Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) in support of mine countermeasure operations.
The NATO device, which provides the alliance with an essential operational capability to ensure free access to ports and safe navigation in times of crisis, will continue navigation to the Sicilian coasts in these days to participate in the national exercise Mare Aperto and Italian Minex carrying out maritime surveillance activities, merchant traffic control and exercises with the aim of maintaining an adequate level of training and achieving better interaction between the crews of different nationalities.
