International Black Sea mine clearance exercises begin in Turkey

The maneuvers are designed to strengthen the interoperability of fleets against the backdrop of threats in the Black Sea.

From October 24 to 31, Turkey will host the annual Nusret-2025 mine action exercises, in which units from 25 countries will participate. This is reported by Ukrinform.

As noted by the Turkish Ministry of National Defense, the main goal is to strengthen cooperation between the forces of partner countries in the field of mine clearance.

The maneuvers will take place in the Saros Gulf, and the exercise scenarios include responding to threats from drifting mines in the Black Sea, as well as detecting and neutralizing fixed explosive objects left after the active phase of the Russian-Ukrainian war.

Units of the Turkish Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard, as well as representatives of another 24 states, are involved in the exercises – five of them will participate directly, the rest act as observers.

Among the participants are the ships Thaon Di Revel and Crotone of the Italian Navy, Sella of the Spanish Navy and Evropi of the Hellenic Navy. As part of the maneuvers, they will also visit the port of Canakkale as part of the NATO Mine Countermeasures Task Force mission.

This is the second major naval exercise in Turkey this year. In early 2025, the country held the large-scale Mavi Vatan-2025 maneuvers in three seas with the participation of 20,000 military personnel.