The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Laboon (DDG 58) participated in a bilateral underway engagement with the Romanian Navy corvette Admiral Eustatiu Sebastian (F-264)in the Black Sea, June 22-23.
The exercises are aimed at improving maritime capabilities and reassuring our NATO allies and partners of our commitment to the alliance and to their security.
Underway engagements such as this are often referred to as passing exercises (PASSEX), and consists of a series of at-sea scenarios designed to enhance maritime capabilities among participating nations. They typically include tactical maneuvering exercises, passenger transfers, bridge-to-bridge communication drills, and simulated threat defenses with aircraft.
USS Laboon, homeported in Norfolk, Virginia, is conducting naval operations in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of operations in support of U.S. national security interests in Europe. The ship deployed from Norfolk on February 13, 2015.
U.S. 6th Fleet, headquartered in Naples, Italy, conducts the full spectrum of joint and naval operations, often in concert with allied, joint, and interagency partners, in order to advance U.S. national interests and security and stability in Europe and Africa.
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Image: US Navy