International exercises “Sea Breeze” started in Scotland

The main topic of the exercises is the preparation and conduct of mine countermeasures operations in the Black Sea.

On June 24, international exercises of the “Sea Breeze” series began in the Scottish city of Glasgow. This was in the press service of the Naval Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported.

The subject of this year’s exercises is the preparation and evaluation of the mine countermeasures headquarters of the Armed Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine for the planning, management and conduct of mine countermeasures and operations.

Also, the training of the crews of Ukrainian anti-mine ships to perform actions as part of a multinational tactical group will be practiced at the exercises.

In addition, the training of operators of Seafox underwater vehicles will be carried out, which will directly perform the task of searching for and disarming mines.

This year, 13 countries participated in the exercises. Among them, in addition to Ukraine and the USA, which acted as organizers, Bulgaria, Sweden, Estonia, Germany, France, Georgia, Greece, Romania, Poland, Japan and Great Britain are participating as the host party.

Marine sappers of the Armed Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine already today perform combat tasks, in particular, demining the Black Sea. However, ship crews must acquire compatibility with partner forces in order to jointly perform tasks in the world ocean as part of tactical groups, said the head of the Armed Forces Navy Training Command, Commodore Dmytro Kovalenko.

During the next stage of the training, the participants will plan mine countermeasures, coordinate forces at sea and perform training elements as part of tactical groups.

Reference: international military exercises “Sea Breeze” have been held on the territory of Ukraine since 1997, in accordance with the Memorandum on mutual understanding and cooperation in the field of defense and military relations between the Ministry of Defense of the United States and the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine. The co-organizers of the exercises are Ukraine and the USA. The purpose of the exercises is to improve cooperation and coordination between the countries of the Black Sea region, except for the Russian Federation, to practice maneuvers at sea and on land.

Last year, mine safety training as part of the Sea Breeze exercise was held in Constanta, Romania.