Dynamic Manta 2022 Has Started

23 Feb 2022

The participating warships and submarines in one photo. Original photo by NATO Marcom, improvements by me.

NATO’s Submarine Warfare Exercise Dynamic Manta 2022 kicked on 21 February 2022, off the Sicilian coast, with ships, submarines, aircraft and personnel from 9 Allied nations.

According to the NATO press release, submarines from France, Greece, and Italy joined surface ships from Canada, France, Greece, Italy, Spain, Turkey, the U.K. and the U.S. for the exercise. Maritime patrol aircraft from Canada, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the U.K. and the U.S. support the simulated, multi-threat environment during the exercise.

The aim of this exercise is to provide all participants with complex and challenging warfare training to enhance their interoperability and proficiency in anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare skills, with due regard for safety.

Filed under Exercise, Mediterranean, NATO Tagged with , , , , ,

Submarine Search And Rescue Exercise Dynamic Monarch/Kurtaran Has Ended

26 Sep 2021

Italian submarine ITS Todaro, Turkish submarine TCG Çanakkale and rescue and towing ship TCG Akın are among the participants of the submarine rescue exercise Dynamic Monarch/Kurtaran 21.

Dynamic Monarch/Kurtaran 2021, the 11th in a series of NATO sponsored live Submarine Escape and Rescue (SMER) exercises was held 12 to 24 September in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea, off the coast of Aksaz, Turkey.

I think that the scenarios applied in this year’s Dynamic Monarc/Kurtaran exercise are very similar to the scenarios in Kurtaran 2019 exercise held 2 years ago at the same location. You can read my notes on the exercise two years ago here: Kurtaran 2019 Submarine Rescue Exercise

The International Submarine Escape and Rescue Liaison Office (ISMERLO) ran Dynamic Monarch exercise, tied to the annual Turkish Navy exercise Kurtaran and hosted by the Turkish Navy.

Assets and personnel from Italy, Turkey together with personnel from Canada, Greece and Spain, United Kingdom and the United States also took part in the submarine escape and rescue training scenarios. Qatar, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Indonesia were present as the observers.

Filed under Exercise, Mediterranean, NATO, Turkish Navy Tagged with , , , ,

Doğu Akdeniz Naval Exercise 2019

13 Nov 2019 2 Comments

Doğu Akdeniz 2019 -Eastern Mediterranean- naval exercise has started in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea.

The biannual exercise is organized by the Turkish Navy will be held between 9 and 20 November 2019. This year 16 nations are taking part in this exercise by various means. Some are sending observers (Azerbaijan, Brazil, Georgia, Italy, Qatar, Kuwait, Lebanon, Mexico) some are sending ships, airplanes, and units (Bulgaria, Spain, Italy, Canada, Pakistan, Romania, Jordan, USA, and Greece)

According to the press releases, 4700 personnel, 44 ships and submarines participating in this exercise.

Furthermore, the following institutions are taking part in the exercise:

  1. Turkish Land Forces Command with attack and transport helicopters.
  2. Turkish Air Force Command with fighter planes, airborne warning and control planes, and CBRN defense team.
  3. Gendarmerie General Command with search and rescue teams.
  4. Coast Guard Command with one OPV and various small vessels.
  5. Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Health, Transport, Maritime and Communications Ministry, Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency, and Turkish Red Crescent

An important part of the exercise will be the attempts to provide coastal safety during disasters by means of disaster and emergency operations, search and rescue, humanitarian aid and air sanitary evacuation procedures.

The most noteworthy aspect of the exercise is the fact that countries such as Greece and Italy are taking part in this exercise, although they are in a power struggle regarding the natural resources below the Eastern Mediterranean.

Here is the list of the participating units as far as I could find it. The list of foreign participants is complete but the names of 13 Turkish naval assets are missing.

Number Name Type Nation Fleet
42 BGS Verni Frigate Bulgaria
S-532 ITS Prini Submarine Italy
260 PNS Alamgir Frigate Pakistan
F-221 ROS Regele Ferdinand Frigate Romania
A-5329 ITS Vesuvio Auxilliary Italy SNMCMG-2
M-268 TCG Amasra Mine hunter Turkey SNMCMG-2
M-32 ESPS Sella Mine hunter Spain SNMCMG-2
M-5557 ITS Numana Mine hunter Italy SNMCMG-2
330 HMCS Halifax Frigate Canada SNMG-2
A-14 ESPS Patino Auxilliary Spain SNMG-2
F-103 ESPS Blas de Lezo Frigate Spain SNMG-2
F-459 HS Adrias Frigate Greece SNMG-2
F-491 TCG Giresun Frigate Turkey SNMG-2
A-543 TCG Işın Auxilliary Turkey
A-580 TCG Akar Auxilliary Turkey
F-244 TCG Barbaros Frigate Turkey
F-490 TCG Gaziantep Frigate Turkey
F-491 TCG Giresun Frigate Turkey
F-494 TCG Gökçeada Frigate Turkey
F-495 TCG Gediz Frigate Turkey
F-497 TCG Göksu Frigate Turkey
F-500 TCG Bozcaada Corvette Turkey
F-501 TCG Bodrum Corvette Turkey
F-511 TCG Heybeliada Corvette Turkey
F-512 TCG Büyükada Corvette Turkey
L-402 TCG Bayraktar Amphibious Turkey
L-403 TCG Sancaktar Amphibious Turkey
M-265 TCG Alanya Minehunter Turkey
M-270 TCG Akçay Minehunter Turkey
P-334 TCG Rüzgar Fast attack Turkey
S-353 TCG Preveze Submarine Turkey

Filed under Mediterranean Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , ,

Sondaj Gemilerimiz ve Teknolojileri

5 Sep 2019

2 ay ne kadar çabuk geçmiş. Oysa Sayın Bilal Eren ile sondaj gemilerimiz hakkında yaptığımız keyfli sohbetin bütün detayları aklımda.

Dinleyemeyenler veya yeniden dinlemek isteyenler kayıtlara aşağıdaki linklerden erişebilir:

YouTube: youtu.be/y3QIaPAtLzI

SoundCloud: soundcloud.com/dijitalhayattv

 

Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/6QXYMi

 

iTunes: podcasts.apple.com/tr/podcast/her

 

Web: dijitalhayat.tv/sondaj-gemiler

Filed under Aegean, Black Sea, Mediterranean Tagged with

The Long Arm Of Turkish Coast Guard

23 Apr 2019 2 Comments

The approximate site of the interception. It is 750 nautical miles away from the nearest Turkish naval base.

The Turkish Coast Guard made an illegal substance interception 750 nautical miles away from Turkey.

The operation was conducted somewhere 78 nautical miles off Tripoli, Libya and 150 nautical miles off Sfax, Tunisia. This is the most distant operation ever carried by the Turkish Coast Guard.

The Turkish flagged fishing boat M/V Pervin Oğulları was carrying 5000 kg of marijuana. This is the third long-distance drug bust of the Turkish Coast Guard

Acting on a tip-off, Turkish security forces established that suspected drug traffickers aboard M/V Pervin Oğulları sailed away from the Izmir, Turkey in early February to the coasts of Mauritania, Morocco, and Algeria, to acquire large amounts of drugs.

The drugs were intercepted on their way to Turkey before the traffickers were able to distribute them to smaller vessels before smuggling them into Turkey.

Two Dost class offshore patrol vessels of the Turkish Coast Guard, TCSG Umut and TCSG Yaşam took part in the operation and carried two helicopters and 25 law enforcement officers, 15 of them from the Gendarmerie.

The 6 crew of the fishing boat has been arrested along with 7 others in Turkey. The fishing boat was brought to Izmir, Turkey where it has started it’s ill-fated voyage.

Here is a 20-minute long video of about the operation including the footage of the actual boarding conducted at 04.00 am on 15 April 2019.

The commissioning of Dost class vessels has really increased the operational range of Turkish Coast Guard and it is nice to see that these vessels are deployed properly for long distance operations freeing up warships.

Filed under Mediterranean, Turkey Tagged with , , ,

Dynamic Manta 2019 Has Started

26 Feb 2019

The participating warships and submarine in one photo. Original photo: Turkish Ministry of Defence, improvements by me.

NATO’s Submarine Warfare Exercise Dynamic Manta 2019 kicked off yesterday, off the Sicilian coast, with ships, submarines, aircraft and personnel from 10 Allied nations.

According to NATO press release submarines surface units and ASW planes and helicopters from Canada, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Turkey, United Kingdom, and USA, under the control of Commander, Submarines NATO (COMSUBNATO) taking part in the annual exercise.

Altogether 4 submarines, 9 ships, and ASW planes and helicopters will try to hone their skill in anti-submarine warfare.

The aim of this exercise is to provide all participants with complex and challenging warfare training to enhance their interoperability and proficiency in anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare skills, with due regard for safety.

Below is the complete list of the participants:

Number Name Type Country
333 Toronto Frigate Canada
D-654 Auvergne Frigate France
A-608 Var Tanker France
F-450 Elli Frigate Greece
S-120 Papanikolis Submarine Greece
F-594 Alpino Frigate Italy
S-527 Scire Submarine Italy
F-805 Evertsen Frigate Netherlands
F-103 Blas de Laze Frigate Spain
F-81 Santa Marina Frigate Spain
S-74 Tramontana Submarine Spain
S-357 Gür Submarine Turkey
F-493 Gelibolu Frigate Turkey

Filed under Exercise, Mediterranean, NATO Tagged with , , , , ,

The Participants of Mavi Balina 2018 Naval Exercise

7 Oct 2018

TCG Bandırma (left) and TCG Gemlik (right) receiving fuel underway from replenishment ship TCG Akar. Photo: Turkish Navy

Mavi Balina (Blue Whale) 2018 invitation naval exercise is going to end today with a post-exercise briefing in Aksanz Naval Base in Marmaris.

Mavi Balina is a biannual anti-submarine warfare exercise where the participating units had the opportunity to increase their readiness for actual submarine warfare operations.

Here is a list of the surface units took part in the exercise:

Number Name Type Country
F-245 TCG Oruçreis Frigate Turkey
F-490 TCG Gaziantep Frigate Turkey
F-491 TCG Giresun Frigate Turkey
F-492 TCG Gemlik Frigate Turkey
F-493 TCG Gelibolu Frigate Turkey
F-502 TCG Bandırma Corvette Turkey
F-512 TCG Büyükada Corvette Turkey
P-1204 TCG Tarsus Patrol Boat Turkey
A-580 TCG Akar Tanker Turkey
F-804 HNLMS De Ruyter Frigate Netherlands
F-105 ESPS Cristobal Colon Frigate Spain
F-253 PNS Saif Frigate Pakistan
F-211 ROS Regele Ferdinand Frigate Romania

Filed under Exercise, Mediterranean, Turkish Navy Tagged with , , , , , , ,

Mavi Balina 2018 Naval Exercise Starts Tomorrow

28 Sep 2018 1 Comment

Romanian frigate ROS Regele Ferdinand seen here passing through Istanbul on 25th September 2018. She is going to take part in Mavi Balina Exercise.

Mavi Balina (Blue Whale) 2018 invitation naval exercise will be held between 28th September and 7th October in the eastern Mediterranean.  Turkish Navy will host ships, airplanes, helicopters, boarding teams and observers from, Algeria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Pakistan, Romania, Saudi Arabia and the United States of America. Furthermore Standing NATO Maritime Group Two (SNMG2) will take part in the exercise too.

Mavi Balina is a biannual anti-submarine warfare exercise. Participating units will have the opportunity to increase their readiness for actual operations and to increase their ability to perform joint operations.

Turkish Navy will participate with 4 frigates, 5 submarines, 2 corvettes, 1 replenishment ship, 1 patrol boat 3 maritime patrol planes, and 6 helicopters.  Airplanes from Turkish Airforce will also take part.

NATO Maritime Group Two will deploy the flagship The Dutch frigate HNLMS De Ruyter, the Spanish frigate ESPS Cristóbal Colón, the Greek frigate HS Elli and one yet undisclosed Turkish frigate.

Pakistan will join with the frigate PNS Saif and one maritime patrol plane. Romania will deploy the frigate ROS Regele Ferdinand and one helicopter. One maritime patrol plane from US Navy will take part in the exercise too.

Algeria, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Pakistan, Romania, Saudi Arabia NATO, and the United States will send 19 observers

18 visit, board, search, and seizure (VBSS) team members and 7 VBSS trainers from Azerbaijan are going to take part in Mavi Balina exercise. Their training will be evaluated by 3 men strong VBSS audit and evaluation team from NATO MARCOM.

Filed under Exercise, Mediterranean, Turkish Navy Tagged with , , , , , ,

Dynamic Manta 2018 Starts Tomorrow

4 Mar 2018

TCG Gaziantep takes part in Dynamic Manta 2018. Here is a photo of her from February 2018 as she was passing through Istanbul with SNMG-2.

NATO’s Submarine Warfare Exercise Dynamic Manta 2018 kicks off tomorrow, off the Sicilian coast, with ships, submarines, aircraft and personnel from 10 Allied nations.

According to NATO press release submarines surface units and ASW planes and helicopters from Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Spain, Turkey, the UK and the United States, under the control of Commander, Submarines NATO (COMSUBNATO) taking part in the annual exercise.

Altogether 6 submarines, 9 ships, 10 ASW planes and 10 helicopters will try to hone their skill in anti-submarine warfare.

The aim of this exercise is to provide all participants with complex and challenging warfare training to enhance their interoperability and proficiency in anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare skills, with due regard for safety.

Below is the complete list of the participant:

Number Name Type Country
F-931 BNS Louise Marie Frigate Belgium
340 HMCS Windsor Submarine Canada
D-653 FS Languedoc Frigate France
F-450 HS Elli Frigate Greece
S-122 HS Matrozos Submarine Greece
S-73 ESPS Mistral Submarine Spain
F-82 ESPS Victoria Frigate Spain
F-105 ESPS Cristobal Colon Frigate Spain
S-353 TCG Preveze Submarine Turkey
F-490 TCG Gaziantep Frigate Turkey
D-37 HMS Duncan Destroyer UK
SSN 785 USS John Warner Submarine USA
S-529 ITS Romeo Romei Submarine Italy
58 USS Laboon Destroyer USA
F-593 ITS Carabiniere Frigate Italy

Click here for reports on previous Noble Manta exercises.

Filed under Exercise, Mediterranean, NATO Tagged with , , , , ,

Doğu Akdeniz 2017 Naval Exercise Started In Eastern Mediterranean

7 Nov 2017

The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Donald Cook arrives in Aksaz, Turkey. Photo: U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Theron J. Godbold

Doğu Akdeniz 2017 naval exercise kicked off yesterday at Turkish Naval Base in Aksaz, Marmaris

The biannual, invitation exercise will take in areas near Aksaz in the Eastern Mediterranean between 7 and 16 November 2017.

Turkey has invited the NATO Standing Maritime Task Force-2 (SNMG-2), the United States and Romanian Naval Forces. They will join the Naval Forces, Air Forces and Coast Guard elements from Turkey.

25 warships and submarines 27 helicopters and airplanes and 3500 personnel from 5 participating countries will take part in the exercise. The exercise is a multinational maritime exercise designed to improve combined combat capabilities, increase operational capacity and strengthen relationships among NATO allies.

This is the list of the participating ships and submarines as far as I could comply:

Number Name Type Nationality Fleet
F-245 TCG Oruçreis Frigate Turkey
F-24X TCG XXX Frigate Turkey
F-24X TCG XXX Frigate Turkey
F-24X TCG XXX Frigate Turkey
F-24X TCG XXX Frigate Turkey
F-511 TCG Heybeliada Corvette Turkey
P-344 TCG Rüzgar Fast attack craft Turkey
P-345 TCG Poyraz Fast attack craft Turkey
P-347 TCG Fırtına Fast attack craft Turkey
P-338 TCG Bora Fast attack craft Turkey
P-33X TCG XXX Fast attack craft Turkey
S-35X TCG XXX Submarine Turkey
S-35X TCG XXX Submarine Turkey
S-35X TCG XXX Submarine Turkey
A-580 TCG Akar Tanker Turkey
A-XXX TCG XXX Tanker Turkey
L-402 TCG Bayraktar LST Turkey
A-XXX TCG XXX Tug Turkey
SG-703 TCSG Yaşam OPV Turkey CG
L-12 HMS Ocean LSH UK SNMG-2
F-244 TCG Barbaros Frigate Turkey SNMG-2
41 BGS Drazki Frigate Bulgaria SNMG-2
265 ROS Admiral Horia Macelariu Corvette Romania
75 USS Donald Cook Destroyer USA

Furthermore following military and civilian search and rescue and emergency responce teams will tke part in the exercise:

 

  1. Turkish Land Forces Command Natural Disaster Relief teams and ambulance helicopters,
  2. Turkish Air Force Command, search and rescue helicopter and AKİP (Search and Rescue Specialist Staff) team,
  3. Ministry of Interior (Gendarmerie General Command), JAK (Gendarme Search and Rescue) teams,
  4. Transport, Maritime and Communications Ministry, Coastal Security General Directorate, Nene Hatun emergency response ship,
  5. Ministry of Health mobile hospital, command control instrument and UMKE (National Medical Rescue Team) teams,
  6. The Turkish Red Crescent

An important part of the exercise will be the attempts to provide coastal safety during disasters by means of disaster and emergency operations, search and rescue, humanitarian aid and air sanitary evacuation procedures.  The command, control and communications capabilities of the newest amphibious ship of Turkish Navy, TCG Bayraktar will be tested and evaluated in this scenario extensively.

 

Filed under Exercise, Mediterranean, Turkey Tagged with , , , , , , ,

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