The NATO exercise began yesterday off the coast of eastern Sicily Dynamic Manta 2018 (DYMA 18). Ships, submarines, planes and personnel from ten allied nations have gathered in the central Mediterranean Sea to train in Anti Submarine Warfare (ASW) and combat against surface vehicles.
Submarines from Canada, Greece, Italy, Spain, Turkey and the United States, under the control of NATO Submarine Command (COMSUBNATO), will join nine surface ships from Belgium, France, Greece, Italy, Spain, Turkey, United Kingdom and the United States. Aircraft and helicopters will also participate. All under the command of the commander of the Second NATO Permanent Naval Group (Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 - SNMG 2).
In Italy, the frigate takes part Carabiniere, the submarine Romeo Romei and the helicopters of the 3 ° Helicopter Base Group at the Catania Helicopters Station (MARISTAELI Catania). Furthermore, Italy assures the logistic support of the Augusta naval base from the Sigonella air base in Catania.
The Dynamic Manta is one of NATO's major annual exercises aimed at ensuring constant interoperability between air, surface and underwater forces in anti-submarine combat. Through the presence of training scenarios with increasing difficulty, ranging from low to high complexity, the exercise allows for the establishment of coordination of operations between armed forces belonging to different countries and operating in a multi-threat context. It also allows NATO to evaluate and develop new anti-submarine tactics.
The tutorial will end the March 16.
(photo: US Navy)
